Chapter 26
“Oh, no, you covered all the yummy parts,” Madison said with a pout as he walked back inside the kitchen.
He grinned. “You weren’t really expecting me to walk around half-naked all night, were you?”
“Well, I’ve gotten used to my mandatory Ben Ackerman catwalk.”
“You’re gonna have to wait until we’re not in my best friend’s kitchen.”
“Fair enough.” She took the few steps separating them and rested her arms over his shoulders. She was awfully tempting with her plump lips and rosy cheeks, and he pulled her flush against him.
“Thank you for coming to my rescue.”
“Anytime. Do I get a kiss?”
He let out a deep sigh. “I guess I owe you.”
“Yup. It’s a kiss or full dinner, at least a three-course meal and a bottle of Chianti wine.”
“That is awfully specific.”
“I gave up a rerun of America’s Next Top Model for you.”
“You’d forget about the Chianti wine in exchange for a kiss, though?”
She shrugged. “You’re a good kisser.”
“I’m the best, you mean.”
Her cute little nose wrinkled, and she shook her head. “No. Average. Maybe on the plus side of average but-” She paused with a yelp when he pinched her butt. “Ben!”
“Want to reconsider your position?” he asked, pinching her waist next.
“No.” He slipped his finger under her blouse to tickle her. “OK. OK. I give you a B minus!”
“Pumpkin, you’re looking for trouble.”
“Well, maybe I forgot. We should try again, and I’ll see if it’s just my memory playing me.”
He pulled her lower lip between his teeth, gently biting it. He took advantage of her small gasp of outrage to slip his tongue inside her mouth and, just as always, he felt the blood run faster through his veins. There was something about Madison, something in her kiss that was different from everything else he had ever experienced before.
She turned soft and pliant in his arms as their kiss heated up, her body fitting against his perfectly. His hand wandered down to palm her luscious derriere, squeezing and kneading the flesh. It seemed to fire Madison up, like it often did. His Pumpkin was a little firecracker under all her geeky appearances, something he found extremely alluring. The contrast between the girl he had met through friends, young, somewhat quiet and nerdy, and the voluptuous, sensual woman she had turned out to be in private was one of his biggest turn-ons. Geek in the streets, freak in the sheets was apparently his style of woman, something he would have never guessed a year ago.
He pushed her against the nearest surface available, planning to devour her for the next half-hour or so, but the echoes of clinking and rattling made him pause.
“What…”
Madison gasped, a pleasantly surprised grin stretching her face. “It’s the fridge!”
That was enough of a wake-up call for him. With a deep sigh, he pulled away from her, forcing himself to ignore the way her lips were trying to chase his.
“Pumpkin, we can’t do this here.” Never ever had a man muttered more painful words. He wasn’t sure who was the most offended - Madison or his penis.
It really was a tie, judging by the glaring pout she was giving him.
“You really have to remember that now? Couldn’t you wait until after I had an orgasm or two?”
He grinned. “I love it when you’re bossy.”
“I love it when you finish what you started,” she hissed.
“You’re not giving me much of a choice, are you?”
Cocking an eyebrow, she let a bold hand slip between them to press against his growing erection. She rubbed gently, bringing it to full mast. He knew he should stop her, but it just felt too damn good. Madison gave amazing handjobs and pulling away from her was asking for far more strength than he possessed.
“Pumpkin…”
“Ssh. I’m busy.”
“Stubborn woman,” he whispered, leaning in to kiss her.
“You like it.”
“I do,” he admitted. He more than liked it, actually. He loved her bossy, stubborn attitude. He loved knowing she’d get right in his face if something wasn’t working for her. He loved how she never seemed to fall for his stupid lines, yet always found them funny. He loved how she’d roll her eyes at him, looking at him like she had his number.
Which she did, if he was honest. She saw right through him with a disconcerting easiness but just went along for the ride.
Acceptance.
That’s what it was. She was taking him exactly the way he was.
And it was mutual, he realized suddenly. On paper, they couldn’t be any more different, but those differences were what was making their relationship unique. He never had that kind of easy, simple, fun connection with a woman he was intimate with. Sure, he was a great choice for a simple hook-up, and it suited him just fine. They all saw his over-the-top attitude as something a little shallow and superficial.
All it did with Madison was make her smile.
And he loved seeing her smile more than anything else in the world.
Something she wasn’t really doing right now, unfortunately.
The house was quiet with Jonathan asleep. The only thing disturbing their bubble was the low drumming of the washing machine.
Washing machine.
Oh, hell, yes.
He gave her a smirk, one full of confidence. “Pumpkin,” he started.
“You’re changing your mind?” she asked, her lips now trailing down his neck. She bit the flesh, making him wince a little, but the idea of bearing her small mark was making it so worth it, he didn’t pull away.
“Have you ever experienced the wonders of the spin cycle?” he eventually asked.
She paused, her lips pressed tightly against his throat, her hand still grinding up and down his hard length. “The… you mean the washing machine?”
“Mmhmmh.”
The glee in her eyes as she lifted her head was an answer in itself. She shook her head, teeth digging into her lower lip. “You’re OK doing it in the laundry room?”
“It’s a utility room, right?”
She nodded, a serious expression on her face.
“I think it’s acceptable to have sexual intercourse in utility rooms, like a supply closet, or a bathroom, or a laundry room. It’s in the How To Hook Up In Your BFF’s House Without Ruining Your Friendship guide, which I just wrote in my head.”
“Knowing you, you probably did a lot of research, so I consider this guide approved and ready to be tested.”
Bending his knees, he slipped his hands under her butt. “Hop on.”
“I’m too-”
“Woman, don’t insult my masculinity. I can carry my girl to the laundry room just fine. Haven’t you seen my biceps lately?”
“I was abroad for five days,” she reminded him.
“I really need to refresh your memory then.” He lifted her, smiling against her lips when her legs went around his waist. “See? No problem here.”
“Oh, yes. My bad. You’re definitely… very manly.”
The room was warm, a little humid too, with the lingering scent of laundry detergent. None of it mattered to him, though, and judging by Madison’s groping, it didn’t bother her in the slightest either. He had barely set her cute ass on the washing machine before she was attacking the shirt he had put on not ten minutes before, shoving it up his chest until he lifted his arms to help her get rid of it. It never ceased to amuse him how much of a hurry she was in to get him naked.
“Much, much better,” she said with a cheeky smile, her fingers roaming his pecs and then down his abs. She circled his belly button, making his stomach clench. Slowly, leisurely, she let her nails rasp against his skin as she followed the thin line of darker hair that was pointing toward his crotch. His erection was straining against his pants and watching her delicately unbutton him didn’t help the situation.
The lowering of his zipper was a low murmur that should have been barely audible in the noisy room, but it seemed unnaturally loud in his ears, as if all his senses were zooming in on that part of his body.
Knowing he was losing control, and fast, he stopped her hand when she was about to dive into his opened pants. “You’re still way too dressed for my taste.”
Thankfully, she had taken off her shoes when she arrived, so all she had to do was lean back on her hands and lift her hips to allow him to free her of her jeans and panties. She was still wearing her socks, something that should have been a turn-off, but it wasn’t. It was the opposite of it, and he feared he might get awkward boners whenever he would see Captain America’s shield, because she was insanely hot to him at that moment, with her Marvel socks, her blouse half opened, her hair messed up, and her lips a rosy color.
He gently pulled her glasses off and put them in a basket on the sink next to him. Cradling her face between his hands, he let his fingers dive into her soft, silky hair and pressed his lips to hers. She shifted, her arms around his shoulders, trying to press closer, and he laughed, both hands gripping her ass and yanking her against him. Her breath caught in her throat at the sudden contact. He knew he was pressing against her clit in that position and slowly rocked his hips against her to bring her the friction she needed. It seemed to work, judging by the way her hands tightened in his hair. Her legs gripped him tighter as if she was afraid he would pull away.
“You need more?” he whispered, letting his lips trail down her neck and to her ear.
Her reply was so faint and breathy that he barely heard it. “Harder.”
He ground down on her more forcefully, letting her small sounds of pleasure guide him. Some guys might be frustrated by basically dry-humping. Ben wasn’t like that, especially not with Madison. Whatever way he was giving her pleasure was good to him. If she was in too much of a hurry to let him take off his clothes, then he’d give her that.
“Ben, we… oh God, yes, just there,” she moaned.
“Like that?” He felt like his dick was about to implode if he didn’t get inside her soon, especially with her heat gliding right above him. His pants were fully open now, only his boxer briefs separating them. She was wet, hot, impatient, and it was taking everything in him to not lower his underwear, free himself, and bury himself inside her tight heat.
“We need a condom,” she blurted out eventually, pushing him away. Her breathing was ragged, her body unsatisfied and obviously on edge.
“Baby, I can still get you off this way and-”
“I want you inside. Please, Ben, tell me you have a condom.”
Oh, shit.
They had gone through his last condom earlier that afternoon, in her living room. Madison kept a box in her nightstand, but they hadn’t made it to the bedroom, so they had used the one in his wallet.
“Oh no. Please. No, no, no. Ben, I’m like super horny right now.”
“That’s not helping, Pumpkin. You didn’t bring any?”
“No.” She groaned, dropping her forehead against his shoulder while he tried to regain control. They could still caress each other. It would be very frustrating to not finish inside her, but it was better than nothing.
“Oh, God,” Madison suddenly let out. She lifted her head, her eyes wide and her mouth open on a small O. Underneath her, the washing machine was shaking, having hit its maximum speed. He could feel the vibration, and he knew that for her, who was directly sitting on it, it was even better.
Or worse, depending on the situation.
“Chris,” she said breathlessly.
What. The. Fuck.
“Condom,” she explained, squeezing her eyes shut. “Chris might have-”
“Oh, shit. Yes!” he shouted, readjusting his pants before taking off, heading straight to the master bedroom. The cupboard under the sink was Christopher’s usual supply closet, and Ben prayed he hadn’t changed his habits since the last time they had shared an apartment - which was a while ago, and only during vacations.
He almost yelled out in triumph when he found a box of condoms behind the rolls of toilet paper, grabbing one before rushing back downstairs.
Madison was still on the washing machine, her hands tight on the edge. “This thing is awful, or amazing, I still don’t know,” she panted as soon as he was back.
His hands were almost trembling when he freed himself, tearing the package open before rolling the condom over his cock.
She was so wet, he slipped inside her in one smooth thrust. Her legs were trembling, vibrating, sending tremors in his own body as he pulled out, before slamming back inside.
Their pace was rushed, hard, and it probably didn’t even last two minutes. Madison went over the edge first and, as usual, it was enough to make him follow. Burying his face in her neck, he let the wave of pleasure wash over him, his arms tight around her as he breathed her in.
The heat inside the room, combined with their rushed love-making, left him with a sheer layer of sweat clinging to his skin as he tried to pull his body back to earth.
“The spin cycle is done,” Madison eventually murmured sleepily.
He huffed out a laugh before lifting his head and meeting her eyes. “Perfect timing.”
“Indeed.”
He gave her a lazy, post-coital kiss. Her body was leaning heavily against him, something he enjoyed tremendously. He liked knowing he had been the one to turn her limbs into wet noodles, just like he loved falling asleep with her while they were both basking in the afterglow.
That wouldn’t happen now, though. They still hadn’t had dinner, for one.
And the tiny crackle coming from the baby monitor in the kitchen was keeping him on alert.
Sure enough, a few seconds later, a small wail reached them.
“Speaking of timing, your godson isn’t bad either.”
“Shh. Maybe he’ll fall back asleep.”
But the wailing intensified and swiftly turned into real, angry crying. “Shit,” he cursed, pulling out and grabbing a few paper towels. He slipped the condom off, bundling the paper towels around it, then threw everything in the trashcan before adjusting his pants and washing his hands.
He was about to make a beeline to Jonathan’s bedroom when he turned around and pressed a quick peck on Madison’s lips. “I promise I’ll deliver a proper amount of cuddling later.”
“Bare-chested?”
“Of course.”