Chapter 25
She loved this position.
It had never been one of her favorites before, but she loved it with Ben. Being on top, controlling the pace, the depth, watching his eyes darken with arousal as she rode him hard, his hands on her hips, on her breasts… everything was a turn-on. It was also guaranteed to make her climax quickly, especially when she would lean forward just far enough to rub her clit against him.
That. Was. Amazing.
“You’re so fucking sexy,” Ben whispered in a hoarse voice as she started a slow, rocking motion to send her over the edge. Her nails digging into his shoulders, she bit hard on her lower lip as the heat started to spread from her clitoris to her core. Having him deep inside that way and being able to grind down on him… she was getting there fast. Really fast.
A small breathy cry escaped her when she hit the wave, coming from low in her throat. Her eyes closed as she savored the tremors, the heat, the way her muscles were tightening to receive the pleasure.
Ben’s body tensed under her while she was still trying to get her breathing under control. He held her down, his hips snapping up when his own climax hit. “Fuuuuuck,” he whispered in a long drawl.
She crumbled over him, her arms shaking. Her forehead naturally nestled in the crook formed by his neck, her fingers trailing over his shoulder and upper chest while he was doing the same along her spine.
Her apartment was completely silent, except for the faint purring sound of her fridge and their slight panting. Something wet and warm tickled her knee and she giggled, squirming over Ben.
“Sorry, baby, but I’m gonna need more than thirty seconds,” he said in a low, dragging voice.
“Rocco is licking my knee,” she snorted, trying to sit up.
“Rocco, come on guy, we had a talk about this. We don’t intrude on each other’s private time whenever a lady is involved.”
“You mean you’re OK when you jerk off watching porn?”
“What the…” Ben frowned, then looked at her in utter shock. “Holy shit, Pumpkin, I haven’t done that in ages!”
“Well, I’m pleased to know that.”
“No, seriously! Like… wow, do we have that much sex? I still sometimes do it in the shower in the morning, obviously, but… wow. I stopped watching porn, and I didn’t even realize it.”
She patted his arm in comfort. “It’s OK. Happens to the best of us. And to answer your question, yes, we kinda do.”
“It’s some great sex, too.”
“Yes.”
“Really. It deserves a top grade.”
She patted his chest in praise. “Yes.”
“I don’t want to sound obnoxious, but I’ve been bringing my A game too.”
“You absolutely do not sound obnoxious at all,” she placated him. He had given her two orgasms, so she figured a little bit of bragging was fair play. Even though she had done all the work.
Plus, he had called her baby.
Three times.
It wasn’t the first time either, but every single time made her feel all warm and mellow for some reason. Baby was so much more intimate and romantic than Pumpkin, his usual pet name for her. It made her feel a little more special, like their relationship was progressing.
He sat up, bringing her up with him until she was back on her knees. Dropping a quick, almost chaste kiss on her lips, he said, “Gotta clean up.”
“Got it.” She climbed off his lap, looking for her panties, which she found right next to the entrance door.
Holding his jeans up, Ben walked to the bathroom while she collected her clothing from all over the floor of her living room.
She had just gotten back from a quick trip to London, and Ben - with Rocco in tow obviously - had picked her up at JFK. They had barely made it inside her apartment before getting rid of their clothes and climbing each other. The bedroom had been deemed too far, and they had aimed for the couch, falling barely five feet away from it.
Her four days in England had been tough - but necessary. She had given her statement to the police and had met Nicole, the girl who had been assaulted. Nicole hadn’t blamed her or judged her, and both women had ended up in tears after barely two minutes. Madison knew that what she had to go through was nothing compared to Nicole, but the emotional impact of that meeting had been tough nonetheless. They had exchanged emails, Madison promising to be there if she ever needed someone to talk to.
She didn’t think she would ever truly forgive herself for not going to the police right away, despite what everyone had told her, including Nicole. It would have been a classic case of he said, she said, with him pleading good faith and mixed signals. It might have not changed anything at all.
She had eventually told Everleigh and Violet a few days before leaving. They had all gotten hammered after that, even Everleigh who had taken advantage of the fact that Chris was staying home with their son. Ian had barely glanced at them, all sprawled in his living room in various stages of giggling drunkenness when he had gotten home from work late that night. He had headed straight to his bedroom, grabbed a change of clothes and gone to Ben’s, telling his wife that she owed him one night with the guys, too.
Their wedding had been lovely. Small, quiet, intimate. Violet’s dress was a stunning ball gown, like she had always dreamed of. Madison had been paired up with Ben as bridesmaid and groomsman and it had been a little game between them to see who could grope the other the most without anyone noticing. She had won easily. And she now had quite a few pictures of the two of them, all nice and formal, like a real couple.
Something they weren’t, but it didn’t hurt to pretend a little, right?
“Water?” Ben asked suddenly, startling her. She had been so lost in thought she hadn’t even realized he was back in the living room.
“No, thanks,” she replied as she headed to the bathroom to freshen up too. She undressed and took a quick shower to get rid of the icky feeling left by a seven-hour flight.
Ben was munching on some popcorn, watching TV with Rocco on his lap, and she sat down next to him to comb her hair.
“Your fridge is empty,” he said.
“Well, duh. I wasn’t going to fill it before leaving the country. We can order something for dinner.”
“Damn. I forgot to tell you. I can’t stay tonight. I’m babysitting.”
“Oh. I didn’t know you knew how to do that.”
He threw her a glare. “I’ve taken care of Jonathan, you know. It’s not rocket science. I promised Chris he could ask if he wanted a night off and apparently, Scampi has another tooth coming and… his parents could use some sleep.”
“I can’t believe you’re still calling that poor kid Scampi.”
He shrugged. “It’s hard not to. I’ve always called him that.”
“When he was a fetus, not a baby,” she said with a light punch on his bicep.
He grabbed her hand, then pulled her against him, earning a small bark from Rocco who jumped from his lap and went to sit on the small bed Madison had bought a few weeks ago, ostentatiously curling up with a small huff.
“Poor Rocco, he feels excluded.”
“He’ll live.” Ben kissed her, his lips warm against hers. “I missed you.”
She tried to hold back her smile, but the words washed over her like a warm blanket in the middle of November. “I missed you too.”
“Really?”
Her smile widened as she stroked his cheek. “Really.”
“We should go somewhere together. Just the two of us.”
“It sounds awfully couple-y,” she said teasingly.
“Yeah, well…” he trailed off, his hand dropping on her thigh and rubbing absently. “We’ve been seeing each other for a while.”
“We have,” she said in a breath, trying to convince her heart to stay calm.
“I… Don’t you think it’s a little silly to hide it from everyone? I mean… you’re basically my longest relationship ever, and no one knows it.”
“It’s weird to pretend we’re just friends. At first, it made sense but…”
“Why hide it any longer? We’re just seeing each other, having fun, no harm done.”
Just seeing each other. Having fun. It felt a whole lot more than that to her, but she had known from the beginning that Ben wasn’t a long-term commitment guy.
Still. It hurt a little hearing him state it so clearly.
“Madison?” he asked when she remained silent.
“Yes.” She met his eyes, a small smile on her lips. “No harm done.”
***
“Shhhh,” Ben whispered, rocking Jonathan in his arms. It didn’t do anything to soothe the infant, who kept on wailing and refusing the bottle his godfather was trying to give him.
Chris and Everleigh had left three hours ago, heading to a nice little hotel barely a few minutes away - they didn’t plan on visiting anything and just wanted a quiet night. Everleigh was also more comfortable being close enough to make it back home quickly if something was wrong with her son.
Which… there kinda was.
Ben was aware that Jonathan wasn’t sick. He was just teething and apparently the process was a painful one for him. He had thought he’d be perfectly able to handle a grumpy baby, but the reality was much more nerve-wracking than he had thought. There was something about a baby crying that brought a wave of anxiety when nothing worked to calm him down. Yet, he didn’t want to ruin the one and only full night of sleep Chris and Evie might get in weeks. He had called Harper, who unfortunately was out of town and heading to the Smoky Mountains with Paula. She had told him to monitor Jonathan’s temperature and follow the instructions left by Chris concerning the painkiller and fever reducer. For the rest, all he had to do was be patient until things settled a little more and try to give him his bottle, so he’d stay properly hydrated.
Which wasn’t working at the moment since the little man hadn’t had a single moment of relief despite the Baby Tylenol Ben had given him more than an hour ago.
He had eventually sent an SOS to Madison and was now desperately waiting for her to arrive. He wasn’t positive she could do anything more, but at least he wouldn’t be alone to deal with the situation. He also needed to pee like crazy but couldn’t abandon Jonathan to his bed when he was crying.
The poor thing probably missed his mom and dad, too.
“Why did I volunteer, remind me again?” Ben murmured as he put the - still full - bottle of formula on the table next to him.
The faint knock on the door was probably the most beautiful sound he had ever heard in his life. “Oh, yes, Aunt Madison is here. Hallelujah, Scampi, we’re saved.”
He opened the door, almost weeping when he saw she was carrying a small backpack and was obviously ready to stick around in moral support. “Pumpkin, I have never been happier to see you. Ever. Wait, no, that time when you waited for me in your little… never mind.”
He gave her a quick kiss, trying to avoid Jonathan’s flying hands.
“Oh, dear, you weren’t kidding,” Madison said when she saw the red, scrunched-up face of his godson.
“It’s not that I want to get rid of him, but I have to pee like crazy and haven’t dared to put him in his crib since I arrived and-”
“Yup.” She swiftly took off her backpack and jacket and went to wash her hands in the kitchen. “Alright, come here, sweetheart,” she said as she opened her arms.
“For the record, I really like that pet name,” Ben said as he handed her the wailing baby.
“I was talking to Jonathan.”
“I know. But maybe you could keep it for me.”
“Ben, go pee.”
He nodded, then took off to the end of the hallway to take care of business. The instant calm that welcomed him once he closed the door of the small bathroom felt almost as good as emptying his bladder, and that was saying something.
“Based on the instructions Chris left, it’s been four hours since his last gum rubbing thingy,” Madison said as soon as he walked out of the room, holding the large list Chris had left for him. “That means he can have another one, and hopefully that will help.”
Everleigh had left all of Jonathan’s medicine on the kitchen counter, properly labeled, and it was easy to find the topical anesthetic. Madison sat down on a chair, holding out her index finger while he pressed out a small amount of fennel-smelling gel.
Jonathan automatically tried to suckle her finger when she gently pressed it inside his mouth, and she laughed. “Nope.”
She did the same thing on the other side of his mouth, and the diversion was enough to calm him down a little. After a minute or two, he seemed to settle even more, apparently deciding that Madison’s long hair seemed good to chew on. Instead, they gave him his bottle, and Ben almost cried in relief when Jonathan drank all of it.
“I understand why they’re exhausted,” Ben said as he took Jonathan from Madison to burp him. “It’s been like three hours, and I could sleep the whole week.”
“Babies are exhausting. Have you had dinner yet?”
“Dinner? You think I even thought of that while wondering if my godson was going to make it through the night?”
Madison grinned. “You’re such a drama queen. He’s just teething.”
“Well, next time, you’re the one who-” He paused when he felt something warm and humid seep through his shirt. “Oh no.”
“What?”
“I forgot the burp cloth.”
“And… oh. Yikes.”
A loud, wet burp erupted from Jonathan and more warmth spread over his shoulder, quickly followed by a sour smell. “It didn’t smell that bad when I warmed it up,” Ben said with a grimace.
“Regurgitated milk is awful, Evie told me. Here, let me have him.” Madison was smarter than him, though, because she first covered her shoulder with a burp cloth. He slipped out of his shirt as soon as the baby was out of his arms.
“Put it in the washing machine right away.”
Thankfully, the laundry room was right next to the kitchen. He first quickly rinsed his Henley, then shoved it in the machine with a few other dark T-shirts he knew belonged to Chris. Adding the detergent, he launched a new cycle then wet a washcloth and cleaned his shoulder too, to make sure he wouldn’t carry the smell with him.
“Remind me to never have kids,” he said as he headed back to the kitchen.
“I don’t know… if kids make you strut around half-naked, I can see some appeal.”
He paused, watching as she ogled his chest. “You perv.”
“Learning from the best?”
“Damn right.”
Seeing that Jonathan had fallen asleep, he carefully lifted him out of Madison’s arms and went to put him in his crib. He struggled a little with the sleep sack but eventually managed to slip Jonathan inside without waking him up.
Ben couldn’t help but smile as Jonathan’s hand reached out for the small plush teddy that Everleigh had told him was his comforter. There was something so peaceful in watching a baby sleep that he allowed himself a few minutes to take him in.
Eventually, he leaned into the crib and brushed his lips on the small forehead. “Love you, Scampi. Now, be a good godson and don’t wake up too soon, OK?”