Page 78 of Let's Call a Truce
I moaned in response, grinding myself against him as I pictured it.
“Let the girls have a sleepover on Friday with Paris. I’ll have the nanny watch them so I can have you all to myself.”
“Clara already has a sleepover planned with her soccer team, but Sophie would love that. What’s so important about Friday?”
“It will officially be two months since you agreed to give this a try, and I want to spoil you.”
“Aw, Ben! Are you paying attention to monthiversaries?”
“I’m keeping track of every day you let me be close to you,” he said into my neck between kisses, and I would have gone weak in the knees if he wasn’t holding me up. “And I plan to make sure you know that.”
“I already do.” My fingers slid through the hair on the side of his head. “Can’t wait.”
He lowered me down, maintaining a lazy kiss until my feet touched the ground.
Three days later, I’d dropped off the girls for their sleepovers and anxiously waited for Ben. I had decided I wanted to spoil him instead, and I ordered a blue bustier and garter set that made my eyes look even brighter than usual. I had asked him to give me an extra hour, taking the time to tame my curls and prepare without the girls looking on.
A knock sounded at the door, and I double-checked thepeephole to make sure it was Ben, so I didn’t give one of my neighbors a show. I opened the door, keeping one arm on the door while the other sat on my popped hip, the pose I had decided on after far too long analyzing which was the most flattering. My stomach flipped and my heart thudded in my chest. I hadn’t worn something this flashy in years, before Clara was born.
When Ben saw me, he groaned and clutched his chest. “Are you trying to kill me?”
“You said you wanted to spoil me. Why can’t I spoil you, too?”
“I have a whole romantic evening planned for tonight.”
I shrugged playfully.
“Oh well, then. I guess I’ll go get changed.” I backed away from him with a quirked eyebrow, and he was on me in a flash. He kicked the door shut behind us as he threw me over his shoulder, sprinting back to my room.
“Ben, put me down.” I wiggled in his grasp.
“I’m pretty sure you are perfect right where you are.” He laughed and lightly smacked my ass.
Once in my room, he set me carefully back on the floor, stepping back to take me in again. His eyes shone as he ran his fingers down my neck and over a shoulder.
“You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
The quiet conviction of his words made my heart squeeze. We took our time, savoring this moment, free to explore each other with no distractions. He removed the lingerie, pressing kisses to every inch of skin, his short beard tickling and teasing.
By the time we made it to the bed, we were both on the edge. Ben’s eyes held me captive as he slowly pushed inside of me. As I looked into the depths of his dark gaze, I saw whole worlds buried inside of them. My release was a slow tidal wave, and as it crested, I almost let those three words rise up. I saw them in Ben’s eyes, too, as we came together, ending in a heapof limbs on my bed. “I guess we aren’t making it to the restaurant,” he said.
“Don’t worry. I already ordered a pizza. I scheduled it to be delivered in…” I looked at my phone. “Crap. In five minutes. I should get dressed so I can get the door.”
He kissed my shoulder, moving to get out of the bed. “No ma’am. I want you just like this, naked and stretched across the bed, for as long as I can. I’ll get the pizza and bring it back in here.”
When it arrived, we sat on the bed together, eating, laughing, and talking. I kept coming back to those three wordspinging around in my head, and it terrified me. The bigger the love, the bigger the hurt.
Be scared with me.
I asked to keep us secret to protect myself, but all it was doing now was keeping me from living my best life with him. I didn’t think people would judge us at work. Everyone knew I was taking the CRO role in a couple months, and it wasn’t like we’d been hiding our friendship in the office. We were the real thing, and it was time to bring our families into it. Visions of our future—cuddling through movie nights and sleepovers for the girls that let us wake up together—flooded my mind.
“I’ve made a decision,” I said. Ben’s brows came up in question. “I know I said I wanted to wait until after the promotion, but I’m ready to tell people about us. You are incredible, and I want to say it publicly.”
Tears filled Ben’s eyes, and he pulled me in for a long kiss.
I pulled back. “I’m still scared.”
He kissed me again. “I know.”
