A banging noise had Fiona sitting up, her heart slamming in her chest as she looked around for the noise. Ben was leaning against the door, breathing heavily as he dropped a couple bags on the ground. She recognized them; they were a couple of her go bags that he’d clearly stuffed with other things as well.

“Sorry if I scared you,” he grunted.

The light in the apartment had changed, and Fiona realized how long she’d been asleep. She glanced around and found that Cin was gone, with just a simple note left on the coffee table in front of her. When she looked back at Ben, she realized he had a couple nasty-looking bruises on his face. She shot to her feet and limped over to him.

“Are you okay?” She whispered the question, slightly afraid of the answer.

His dark, sexy eyes found hers, and it was like there was a fire burning in them, warming the air between them. “Yeah, I’m fine. Tommy and I just had a conversation is all.”

“I shouldn’t have let you go.” Her hand came up unbidden and touched the side of his face. When she realized what she’d done, she yanked it back. “Let me get you some ice or something frozen. Sit down.” She gestured to the couch where she’d been unintentionally napping moments earlier. It was all wrong. Ben getting hurt on her behalf left a sour feeling in her stomach.

Once he was down on the couch, she made her way to the freezer and grabbed a pack of frozen stir-fry vegetables. Sitting back down on the couch beside him, she gently pressed the cold bag to his face where the bruise was the worst.

“I’m okay, really. Plus, it looks worse than it is,” he said, turning toward her as he placed a hand over hers on the bag.

Her breath hitched as his gaze traveled down, taking in her new outfit. He reached out, and a hand briefly skimmed her own cheek before brushing her thick, still-damp hair over her shoulder.

“Did you have a good shower?” he asked, his voice rougher than it had been a moment ago.

She wasn’t imagining the lust she saw on his face, nor was she imagining the frantic beat of her own heart. The whole situation was so surreal that she wanted to scream. Her ex was hunting her down like a dog after a fox, and meanwhile, her whole body was betraying her with its desire for Ben. He’d asked her a question, hadn’t he? Her brain was too fogged with longing to remember or to answer clearly, so she just made an um-hum sound and tried to look away from his sinfully pouty lips.

“Fi . . .” Ben trailed off as his face closed in on hers.

His kiss was so delicate, so gentle, that at first, she thought maybe it wasn’t really happening, so she pushed forward, her own lust pulsing in her ears as their lips connected more firmly. When he pulled back, confusion fell over her. Had he changed his mind already?

“Fiona, you don’t have to. We don’t have to do this.” He took a breath. “I don’t want you to feel like you owe me or are repaying me. I want you to kiss me because you want me.”

The words surprised her. She hadn’t even thought about the situation in that light, but the fact that he had? Well, it only served to cement her already glowing opinion of him and stoke the flames of her desire. “I want you,” she whispered before she leaned in and kissed him.

She hadn’t missed the smile that had reached his eyes when she uttered those three little words, like he hadn’t heard them enough. This time, his kiss was hot and passionate. His hand cupped her head, angling her just right so that his tongue could sweep in and dance with her own. Every part of her body felt like it burst into flames for him. Her nipples had become hard little peaks that were only stiffening more as the fabric of the T-shirt brushed against them. Suddenly, she remembered she wasn’t wearing a bra.

As though he’d heard her thoughts, Ben’s hand moved from her head down her shoulder and over to her breast. When his fingers brushed the painfully hard bud of her nipple, she couldn’t help but moan. It had been so long since a man had touched her this way that she wanted to faint at the sheer pleasure of it.

Ben’s teeth nipped at her bottom lip, and he seemed to want to eat her sounds up. A deep rumble began in his chest as he pushed her back against the couch. She willingly went, enjoying the sensation of his strong hands on her body, and when his mouth moved from her own down to the crook of her neck, she became lost to pleasure.

Her hands ran through his silky ebony hair and down to his muscular shoulders, feeling the muscles tense and relax under her fingers as he moved. When his hand moved over her still-bruised ribs, she squeaked, and he immediately backed up.

“Shit, sorry. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, it’s just still tender, that’s all.”

Ben sat back as though realizing just how far things had progressed. “Did Hal come over?”

“Yep, and whatever that pain-relieving stuff is, he should seriously consider marketing it.”

He laughed, and the skin around his eyes crinkled in a way that spoke of a life full of smiles and happiness. It changed his whole face and made him even more attractive. Just knowing he could go from broody and dark to joyful and light was enough to satisfy a piece of curiosity she’d had about him. Tommy had smiled, but it had never reached his eyes. He would never have developed lines like the ones Ben had.

“Do you need some ice? More painkillers? Water?” he asked as the laughter died down.

“I don’t need anything, except maybe more kisses from you,” she said, feeling bold.

“That I can do.” He grinned again, and her heart squeezed with delight.

When their lips connected once more, it was like going to see fireworks. This time, though the passion was still there, his movements were slow and deliberate, as though he were trying not to hurt her, or make sure she felt comfortable stopping him from going too far. The problem was, she just wanted to rip his clothes off and fuck him right there on the couch.

His slow, methodical attentions made her frustration rise. She wanted the passionate, hands-everywhere kissing they were doing before, not this overly careful stuff. When he shifted, she took the opening and pushed him back on the couch, moving to a straddling position while being as careful of her ribs and ankle as she could.

Ben raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“I’m not a fragile doll,” she said breathlessly in answer to his unspoken question before bringing her mouth down on his.

To her delight, he took the kiss and deepened it, pulling her to him so she could feel the hard ridge of his cock pressing against her through his jeans. His hands came up and brushed her thighs at the hemline of the boxers before sliding underneath and grabbing her ass. She moaned again, and this time, his hips ground upward as though his body was responding to her sounds without his permission.

“Ben.” She whispered his name in a sigh while he continued to move rhythmically against her, already bringing her to the edge of a climax as the rough fabric of his jeans pressed against the thin cotton of the boxers.

“By the gods, Fiona, if you don’t stop, I’m going to come in my pants.” It was only when he said something that she realized her hips had been moving against his in their own response to the rhythm he had set.

She smiled between gasps, unused to having such a strong effect on a man. “Bed?” she asked.

He froze. His eyes popped open and stared into her own. “Are you sure?”

She nodded, biting her lower lip.

His gaze became fixed on her mouth, so she let her lip fall from her teeth and swept her tongue out over the swollen skin before biting down on it again. Ben groaned and stood, picking her up with him as though she weighed nothing more than a pillow. As he walked them through to the small bedroom, she noticed the strong masculine scent that she’d begun to associate with him became even stronger, sending her body into a frenzy. She needed him inside her soon or she was going to lose her mind. When he gently deposited her on the bed, the smell of him engulfed her, her lust roaring in her ears.

“Tell me if anything hurts, okay?” His voice was gravelly with need, and he looked at her with eyes the color of rich mahogany, a deep brown with flecks of red scattered across.

She nodded at him, unable to tear her gaze away. Ben stood and, without breaking eye contact with her, began undressing. She wanted to look, wanted to help him, but watching each other was so hot that she couldn’t do anything but bite her lip once more.

The clank of his belt hitting the floor made her heart flutter, and when a flash of material forced them to stop the staring contest, she realized that he was completely naked.

Her eyes traveled lazily down the lines of his body, taking in the firm planes of his chest and the ridges of his lean stomach before landing on a rock-hard cock. It jutted out of him proudly as though announcing itself, and she couldn’t help but smile.

He climbed onto the bed then and hooked his fingers in the waistband of the boxers she was wearing, slowly pulling them down her legs before sliding his hands under the T-shirt, briefly cupping and massaging her breasts while he inched the cotton material higher on her chest. Finally, he scooted the fabric over her head, and they were both as naked as the day they were born.

“By the gods, you’re beautiful,” he whispered reverently as he began kissing a line from the shell of her ear down to her neck and then lower. The searing heat from his lips and tongue trailed down her chest to her breasts until he circled her nipple with his mouth, nibbling and biting at it while his fingers rolled and pinched the other.

Her breath came in short panting gasps, and she thought she might have an orgasm just from him playing with her nipples.

When his knees nudged her legs apart, a nervous but excited quiver ran through her body. She wanted him so badly, wanted to feel his hands on her, his mouth on her, his cock inside her, everything.

One of his hands ran up the length of her thigh and over her stomach, brushing and caressing her skin as it moved, leaving a trail of fire in its wake. Her whole body was hot for him; she could literally feel heat radiating out of her, and for some reason, she knew it was because of him.

The same hand that had been caressing her thigh a moment ago moved around to her most sensitive areas. A finger slowly stroked her folds, spreading her wetness around, and when it found her bud of pleasure, it stopped and circled multiple times, ratcheting her desire ever higher.

Fiona reached her hand between them. It had until that point been holding on to his hair, like it would keep her grounded in reality, but now it sought a greater prize. She paused to slightly play with his nipples, earning her some groans and muffled curse words, before she continued her journey south.

She skimmed over his stomach, feeling the ridges and the small ticklish hairs that let her know she was on the right track. Finally, she found his cock.

The thick velvety head pushed against her hand as she rubbed her hand over it and down his shaft. Just as she was starting to get a good rhythm going and she could feel his hips moving, pushing his cock into her hand even further, he changed his tactics.

The finger that had been gently stroking and circling slipped inside her and began thrusting in and out. She writhed as much as she could with her ribs still hurting. When his thumb joined in, stroking back and forth over her clit, she just about lost it.

“I want you inside me before I come,” Fiona said in a strangled voice, surprising herself. She didn’t usually ask for what she wanted, and hadn’t expected to say anything during their time together, but she felt so at ease with Ben. He comforted her soul, easing the roughness that Tommy had created. Ben’s touch, his scent, his very presence was a balm on her nerves.

“Whatever you wish, love,” he grunted as he moved his cock toward her opening.

The thick head pushed against her folds, teasing her in the most erotic way. Ben eased himself into her fraction by fraction, and she relished the feeling of being filled by him. Once he was fully sheathed within her, he groaned.

“By the gods, Fi, you feel amazing.”

“So do you,” she said when she was able to speak again.

His hand slid between them, and he began wiggling a finger back and forth over her sensitized nub. The orgasm was suddenly right there. She could feel her muscles clenching around his cock as they prepared to spasm.

“Move,” she whispered.

“Not until you come,” he growled back.

She shimmied her hips back and forth as much as she could, making Ben groan in pleasure. As though she had broken the spell, his hips slowly withdrew his cock before thrusting it back into her in one long stroke, which, when combined with the ministrations of his fingers, had her dancing on the edge of an orgasm.

“Again,” she breathed, her hands clenching the bedsheets.

Ben moved again. This time, he slowed his fingers while he pulled out, and sped back up when he thrust into her. It was heaven. He seemed to understand exactly what she needed, and as he thrust in long hard strokes, his fingers practically vibrated over her clit.

She was barely able to take a breath before the wave of pleasure crested over her, making her clench everything so her body didn’t buck too much and hurt her ribs again. The walls of her pussy pulsed around his cock, and she felt him pause.

“Don’t stop, don’t stop,” she chanted like a prayer.

Each time he thrust into her, a new wave of pleasure exploded within her. She had never had an orgasm like it before, and knew that without Ben, she would never have one like it again. His thrusts slowly sped up, and as her pleasure continued to spike and recede, she couldn’t focus on anything except the pounding rhythm of his hips smacking against her own.

She could hear skin slapping against skin and knew she should probably be hurting more than she was, but all she wanted was to give him the same pleasure he had given her. Fiona moved her hips in time with his thrusts and began playing with his nipples again.

“Fuck, Fi . . . If you do that, I won’t last,” he grunted between thrusts.

“You don’t need to. We can do this again later,” she said, biting down on his earlobe.

His hands came away from her body and completely braced his body over hers as he began to pound into her. She slipped her own hand between them and continued to play with her clit, working her way toward another orgasm that she knew would be just as powerful as the first.

Within moments, her overly sensitive body was on edge. She held off for as long as she could, walking the tightrope of an orgasm and intense pleasure, while she waited for Ben to find his release.

His grunts were becoming more desperate, and his hands had fisted the sheet on either side of her head. Within seconds, he was growling as his own orgasm overwhelmed him. He thrust into her a few more times as he spilled himself within her, and as her fingers swirled, her own orgasm crested.

This time, there was no controlling her body. It bucked and stretched while her inner muscles milked his cock, pulsing around him as he made a whole new set of noises that were somewhere between a groan and a prayer.

Eventually, when both of their bodies had stopped spasming, Fiona was able to see and actually focus on the man who had just given her the most amazing orgasm ever. His reddish-brown eyes were dazed but watching her.

“Did I hurt you?”

She shook her head.

Ben eased himself out, and she instantly missed his cock’s presence within her. As he rolled to one side, he said, “That was amazing.”

“Yeah, it was.” She pushed a breath out as the world slowly began to settle into place around her once again.

They both lay in silence for a while, completely exhausted by the pleasure they had just felt. Ben’s arm came around and pulled her into him. Even though her ribs prevented her from lying on her side and putting her head on his chest like she wanted to, just being close and touching was enough, at least for now.

Her heart thudded painfully in her chest. She didn’t want to leave him, not this amazing man whom she had confessed her life story to without feeling overly self-conscious. It didn’t hurt that he had just given her the best orgasm of her life, either.

A loud noise in the other room made her heart stop, and a sickening feeling spread over her body. Tommy had found them; she just knew it.