Page 68 of Let's Call a Truce
I listened as his breaths turned slower, his own sense of calm helping to pull me with him to sleep.
Chapter 20
A loud alarmwoke me up before the sun. The red neon numbers on the hotel clock read 6:15A.M.I groaned as Ben leaned over me, pressing a kiss behind my ear as he grabbed his phone.
“Why so early?” I groaned as he shut off his alarm and pulled me back against him.
“I set the alarm before dinner last night. How was I to know you’d keep me up half the night?”
“I hope you don’t expect me to run this morning.”
“Trust me, I have no plans of getting out of this bed a second before we have to.” He placed kisses along my shoulder and neck. “But I am open to some other forms of cardio.”
Ben nipped a small bite where my neck and shoulder met, and I arched back into him, finding him already hard. I reached my hand behind his neck, encouraging the attentions while pressing myself more firmly against him. He ran his hand over my hip and between my legs, finding me as ready as he was.
“Is this all for me, Juliana?” He positioned himself at my entrance and pushed inside.
This time was slow and patient, both of us savoring each roll of his hips. Neither of us lasted long, already pushed close to the edge by waking up in each other’s arms. We found our release together, both crying out as we came.
“I guess I can delete our battle log.” I smiled dreamily as Benabsentmindedly ran his fingers back and forth over my hip and the curve of my waist.
“Battle log?”
“I may have kept track of every argument we got into, so I knew who was winning.”
Ben let out a laugh loud enough to wake the entire floor, and I threw my hands over his mouth to shush him.
“I need to see this log of yours. I don’t trust for one second it’s fair to me.” His whole body shook with laughter.
“Of course it is,” I replied indignantly. “A stolen victory is no victory at all.”
“Fine. Then give me an example of when I won.”
“Okay.” I thought through the list. I reread my own victories, not his. “Remember when you ‘replied all’ on an email to point out my typo?”
“I told you I was trying to clear it up! The typo changed what the sentence was saying.”
“But you didn’t need to reply to the entire email chain! You were trying to get a rise out of me.”
“It wasn’t my intention, but I wasn’t disappointed when you burst into my office, all flushed and bothered. You’re so sexy when you’re worked up. I was grateful we had the desk in between us to keep me from doing something you’d have slapped me for.” He tugged me closer, burying his face in my neck as he kissed his way to my ear. “I promise never to point out a typo again.”
“All’s forgiven.” I sighed as he continued his trek back down and across my collarbone. “Plus, I got back at you.”
He pulled back and narrowed his eyes. “Excuse me?”
“Remember when all your presentation slides were out of order at the all-staff meeting? I was pissed, so I went into the shared drive and moved them all around.”
“You brat.” He pinned me beneath him, tickling me and making me howl with laughter. I wiggled my way out fromunder him and bolted to the bathroom before he could haul me back to the bed.
“Wow, that’s a pretty sight in the morning.” Dark makeup coated my eyes. I tried to wash it off as best I could with water, but I needed my makeup remover from my room to fix the problem. “I need to head back to my room to get ready for today.”
Ben slipped out of the bed naked and walked over to me without a hint of self-consciousness, though I’m sure I’d never be self-conscious if I looked like him. He swept my dress off the floor, and I wondered how a man as large as him moved with such grace. He planted a soft kiss on my lips as he handed me my dress.
“You even look beautiful as a raccoon.” His tone was serious, but his eyes were lit with mischief.
“Watch yourself. I have a lot more power over you now.”
He laughed as I pushed him back. “Believe me, I’ve been under your power since the minute you slammed into my chest.”
