Chapter 26
Annalise
We were both quiet, lying side by side in the dark room.
I wondered if he already regretted it. “What are you thinking right now?” I asked.
He blew out a deep breath. “Truth?”
“Of course.”
“I was thinking about how I could manage to start the audio recorder on my phone without you noticing before I go down on you again. I need to capture that sound you make while you come to use for jerk off material after you toss my ass to the curb in a half hour.”
I laughed and turned on my side toward him. “What sound?”
“It’s sort of a cross between a moan and a scream, but it’s really throaty and fucking hot.”
“I don’t scream.”
“Oh, you so do, babe.”
I honestly had no idea what had come out of my mouth tonight. It was kind of an out-of-body experience that I had no control over.
“And what makes you think I’ll toss your ass to the curb in a half hour?”
Bennett turned to face me. He wiped a wisp of hair from my cheek. “Because you’re smart.”
I had no idea how what just happened would play out. Unlike my usual self, I hadn’t thought about the consequences of my actions. Instead, I went with what felt right in the moment. And God knows what had felt right in the moment turned out to feel pretty damn amazing. So I kept with that mindset, not letting myself overanalyze anything just quite yet.
“Andrew didn’t… He wasn’t really into oral sex. So I think the sound you heard might have been the cork coming off some really tightly bottled champagne.”
Bennett propped his head up on his elbow. “What the hell does that mean? He wasn’t really into oral sex? Are you saying he sucked at going down on you?”
“No. I’m saying it didn’t happen often. Like…pretty much never.”
“But you like it?”
I shrugged. “He didn’t.”
“And therein lies the problem in your relationship in a nutshell. I’m not just talking about sex, either. Any guy who doesn’t get over himself to do something he might not love to please his woman has an issue that goes a lot deeper than sex.”
Sadly, Bennett was one-hundred-percent right. Things with Andrew were always about what Andrew wanted and needed. He needed quiet to write his novel, so we put off moving in together. I liked a new restaurant and he didn’t, so we didn’t go back. He needed space, and I gave it to him. Yet when he wanted to go skiing on vacation and I wanted the beach, I dug out my winter clothes to make him happy. And the worst—God, I’d really missed out—Bennett was right. I do like oral sex.
I sighed. “You’re right.”
The room was dark, but I could see him smile. “I’m always right.”
Bennett brushed two fingers along the length of my arm from shoulder to hand. I seriously felt it all the way down to my toes, and it caused me to quake with a little shiver dance.
“Your body is so responsive.”
I reached out and flattened my hands to his abs, letting them feel their way around the hard plains. “And yours is so…hard.”
He chuckled and captured my wrist in his hand, dragging it a foot or so south.
“Oh. Wow. You’re….”
“Hard everywhere.”
“Indeed. That’s not very much downtime, you know.”
Bennett did some stealth move, scooping me up and rolling onto his back to lay me on top of him. “Gotta make good use of the time before the blood rushes back to your brain and you smarten up.” He lifted his hips and nudged at my opening.
“Feels like the blood hasn’t rushed back to your brain yet either.”
“How about we make a pact?” He traced his finger along my spine, slowing, but not stopping as he came to the crack of my ass. “Neither one of us thinks about anything until the sun comes up tomorrow.”
I brushed my lips with his. “Finally, something we can agree on.”
***
I slipped from the bed and tiptoed into the bathroom. On my way, I picked up my purse from where it had dropped near the door last night and dug out my phone. Six thirty. My flight was at nine. I scanned my emails to see if Marina had copied me on Bennett’s itinerary like she had him on mine. Sure enough, she had sent me his while I was at dinner last night. So I opened it to see if we were on the same flight. We weren’t. His was at eleven, for some reason. The thought of not having to travel with him, not having to face him in the light of day, made me feel an odd combination of bereft and relieved.
I tied up my hair and took a quick shower. When I washed between my legs, I felt an ache that made me smile. How many times had we had sex last night? Four? Five? Was that even possible? Whatever it was, I knew for certain it was my personal record. Andrew and I had never gone at it like that. In the beginning, there might’ve been a night or two that we’d done it twice, but once a week was more our average over the last few years.
My clothes were still on the floor where I’d stripped last night. Although when I put them back on, it looked more like I’d slept in them. But I couldn’t find my underwear. So I collected the rest of my things, put in for an Uber, and shook out Bennett’s clothes, thinking maybe my panties had gotten mixed up with them during our frenzy last might.
I jumped at the sound of his groggy voice. “Looking for something?”
“Shit.” I dropped my purse to the floor. “You scared me. I thought you were sleeping.”
“I was. But I woke up when you started rummaging through my clothes.”
“I wasn’t rummaging through your clothes. I’m looking for my underwear.”
He lifted an arm out of the covers and held up my panties, dangling from one finger. “Oh. You mean these?”
I laughed. “How the heck did you wind up with them?”
“I got up to go to the bathroom an hour ago, right after you fell asleep, and I scooped them up on my way.”
“They’re your color, but not sure they’ll fit.”
I went to swipe them from his hand, but he pulled back and clenched them in his fist.
“What are you doing?”
He cupped his hands together and brought them to his nose, taking a deep whiff of my thong. “Ah. I love the smell of your pussy.”
My eyes widened. “That’s a little twisted, even for you, Fox. Now give me back my panties. I have a flight to catch.”
“No can do.”
“You expect me to fly home wearing a skirt with no underwear?”
He reached out and slipped his hand under my skirt, grabbing a handful of ass. “You should come to work like this every day.”
I chuckled. “Seriously, I’m going to be late for my flight.”
“You could change your flight and get on the later one with me.”
I’d thought of that, but I needed some time away from this man to screw my head on straight. Before I could think of an excuse, Bennett used the hand on my ass to hook my waist and pull me down to him.
“I know you need some headspace,” he said. “The thong is my insurance policy. I’m keeping them until you’re ready to talk to me. Then you’ll get them back.”
“What if I decide I don’t want to talk about last night?”
He kissed my lips. “Then Jonas gets your underwear.”
“You’re out of your mind.”
“Maybe. But I bet the thought of him sniffing them while he jerks off freaks you out a little more than me doing it.”
I shook my head. “I don’t have time to argue with you. However…” I walked over to his pile of clothes and fished his wallet out of his pocket. I dug out a Visa and let the leather billfold fall unceremoniously to the floor. “…there’s a Victoria’s Secret at LAX. I’ll pick up some new ones…and some other things while I’m at it.”
Bennett smiled broadly. “Have at it. Maybe something with garters and cutout panties so you don’t have to take it off while I fuck you on your desk next week.”