SeducedByTheAntiHero (17 page)

“You gonna come?” His gravelly voice was husky in her ear as
he nipped at her lobe.

“Yes,” she hissed when he increased the pressure of his
fingers. But as soon as the word left her mouth, his movements ceased. “No,
don’t stop,” she pleaded. She was so close and when he stopped, her climb up
that hill stopped with him, leaving her suspended in the air.

Lightning quick, he gently slapped her pussy, making her
yelp, but the sting had a surprisingly pleasant aftershock. “Don’t come until I
say you can,” he growled before pulling away and rolling onto his back.

She took her cue and followed, turning to face him. When he
gripped her thigh and pulled her over his hips to straddle him, she didn’t
fight. Instead, she sat up and pulled her shirt over her head. That wicked
tongue of his came out to glide along his bottom lip and his eyes narrowed to
lust-filled slits as he took her in.

Rocking her mound down onto his erection, she slid her hands
beneath his t-shirt and glided them upward. The muscles of his abdomen bunched
and contracted as she moved and she savored the feel of his hot skin under her
palms. His hips jerked up into her, nearly taking her knees from the bed when
she raked her nails along his chest and over his nipples.

Suddenly he sat up, yanking his shirt over his head before
taking control of her mouth. The clasp of her bra was snapped loose by his
talented fingers and she slipped it down her arms and off while the wet heat of
his mouth broke from hers and enveloped a nipple.

“
Ben
,” she moaned, writhing on top of him and digging
her fingers in his hair to pull him closer.

The index finger of his right hand trailed down her spine,
leaving goose bumps in its wake before he shoved his hand down the back of her
loosened jeans and into her panties. She cried out and rocked her hips harder
into his when his fingers lightly rubbed over the rosebud of her back entrance.

“Someday soon, Emma, I’m gonna take you here.” He nipped her
throat before using his free hand to pull her chin down to look him in the eye.
The raw ownership she saw in his gaze had her breath catching. “I want you to
feel me everywhere, Sugar.” He rubbed, giving her a little more pressure and
she gasped and clung to him. “Soon,” he promised darkly before slipping his
fingers lower through her wetness to find her dripping opening from behind.

Without warning, he thrust two fingers inside her and she
bucked into him. If she rocked her hips forward just right, her clit rubbed up
against the hardness of his cock contained by his jeans. Each time she hit it a
shiver went right through her. Soon he was fucking his fingers into her in time
to the rolling movements of her hips and she could feel herself climbing back
up that hill.

His teeth nipped her chin, making her tilt her head down so
his lips could graze hers. “You about to come?” He murmured against her lips
and just hearing the word
come
in his deep voice had her flesh pulsing
and her hips jerking into him. “What did I tell you, baby?”

The way he dragged his teeth slowly across her bottom lip
and the feel of his fingers pumping in and out of her pussy made coherent
thought a little challenging. His mouth found her breast and those sharp teeth
tugged at her nipple, wringing a cry from her throat. “What was the rule,
Emma?”

“Don’t—” It was hard to get enough air into her lungs to
form those two tiny words he wanted to hear. This time his teeth bit down on
her other nipple and the words rushed out. “Don’t come.” It was a reminder to
her just as much as an answer to his question.

“Mmm, that’s right.” The vibrations of his voice against her
sensitive skin and the twisting thrusts his fingers had now started were making
it nearly impossible to obey him. “When can you come, baby?”

“Oh
God
, Ben, please,” she panted, fisting her
fingers in his hair as she bounced in his lap. She didn’t know how much longer
she would be able to hold on.

The fingers of his free hand came up to tangle in her hair,
forcefully pulling her head back and stretching her neck in a tight arch. “
When
?”
he growled against her throat.

God
how she loved his dominant side, the way he owned
her body and he damn well knew it. Used it to his advantage.

“Not until you tell me to.” Her voice was broken and hoarse.
Fuck
, he’d better hurry up and tell her to or she might just come
anyway. She shivered at the thought of what he might do to her then.

As if sensing her thoughts, he chuckled low in his throat
and said, “Good girl,” then promptly pulled out of her.

The hand drifting up her back that she supposed was meant to
be soothing, was falling dangerously short of its purpose. The growl of
frustration that emanated from her then was a sound she had never heard before.
Wanting to wipe that smug little smile off his face, she pushed all of her
weight forward, knocking him off balance. Before his back could hit the
mattress, though, he had her flipped around so that she ended up beneath his
big body. That smug smile turned into a grin.

“Be patient, Sugar.” He kissed her lips softly. “I’ll get
you there.”

Oh, there was no doubt in her mind that he would, but he was
taking his sweet old time about it. She went to bite him and he pulled back
with a laugh. Of all the times for him to bring out his playful side, it had to
be now? When she wanted him so bad she thought she would explode?

But then he stood up to push his jeans down his legs and
off. All of her irritation seemed to evaporate when his thick cock sprang free,
a bead of pre-cum leaking from the angry red tip. He wanted her just as bad and
that somehow made this easier.

Grabbing her ankles, he dragged her down the bed until his
fingers had access to the tops of her jeans. He tugged and she obligingly
lifted her hips so he could pull them, along with her panties, off.

“Do you want me, Emma?” His warm, rough hands slid up her
legs, spreading them wider when he got to her inner thighs. “You wanna feel me
inside you?”

She wrapped her legs tight around his waist when he settled
into the cradle of her body. Curling her fingers around his upper arms, she
tried to pull him forward onto her. She needed to feel his skin sliding against
hers, needed him to cover her and surround her with his heat.

She just needed him.

The muscles of his arms tensed under her touch and he
resisted her tugging. Instead, he caught her hands in his and pinned them above
her head. So, in the end, she got what she was after anyway.

“Tell me,” he rumbled against her lips. The hot, wet tip of
his erection slid through her folds and bumped against her clit as he settled
over her. She whimpered, her hips arching upward to seek more contact of their
own volition. “Do you ache for me the way I ache for you every damn time I see
you?”

His amber gaze bored into hers, imploring her to answer with
a kind of tense vulnerability and she knew she would never get that look out of
her head as long as she lived. He was talking about more than sex here and she
felt her heart swell as it picked up speed.

Swallowing past the sudden lump in her throat, she said,
“Ben, I ache for you even when I don’t see you. I’ve never wanted anyone or
anything even remotely as much as I want you.”

At her words, his intense look transformed into one of
immense satisfaction and he slid his palms into hers to twine their fingers. “Then
you got me, Sugar.” His pet name for her came out on a moan which she echoed as
he began to push into her. “All of me,” he said as he slid inside to the hilt.

He took her mouth in a fierce kiss as his hips took up a
steady, languid rhythm, working his cock in and out of her pussy. Emma opened
wider for him, his deep measured strokes taking her higher. Then he started to
slowly circle his hips. Thrust, circle, thrust, circle, until her nails dug
into the back of his hands and she wrenched her mouth away from his to let out
a near scream.

“Oh my God,
Ben
,” she moaned. “Don’t stop. Don’t
stop.” If he stopped right now she would die. And she would take him with her. She
was right
there
, right on the edge and she knew this orgasm was going to
be monumental and bordering on painful. She didn’t care, she wanted it anyway.

“I can feel you squeezing me, baby.” He grunted against her
lips. “You wanna come?”

“Ah, yeah, yeah.” It was all she could manage as their
bodies moved together and she could feel herself reaching that point of no
return.

He growled against her ear and the sound vibrated along her
nerve endings, making her inner walls spasm in delight. “
Fuck
, Emma. Come,
come for me.”

That was all she needed to hear and she went off like a
rocket beneath him, calling his name, heedless of the noise she was making. The
feel of him shuddering and jerking inside her at the same moment, his hot cum
spurting into her, had another orgasm hitting her before the first one ended. He
was still marking her and she wanted it, loved it.

When he collapsed on her, gently rocking his hips into her
to bring them both back down, she welcomed his weight. Out of nowhere a
disturbing thought entered her brain that had her stilling in his arms.

“What’s wrong?” he asked nibbling at her jaw and she forced
her body to relax into his.

“Nothing at all,” she lied.

He pulled back to look down at her. “You sure?”

“Positive.” She smiled reassuringly, hoping it was
convincing. After studying her for a long moment, he seemed to be satisfied
with what he saw and rolled over onto his side, pulling her into his body.

“Go to sleep then, Sugar.” He nipped her throat. “You keep
waking me up like that and we’ll both be exhausted and never get out of bed.”

Snuggling into him, she laughed and acquiesced but she knew
that sleep was going to be far off. All she could think about as she lay in his
arms was the revelation she’d had moments before.

She was utterly and completely in love with this man.

“Emma.”

Ben’s soft voice filtered through her subconscious, tugging
her into wakefulness. Slowly, her eyes fluttered open to see his handsome face
hovering above hers, a soft smile curving his lush lips. This was definitely a
sight she could get used to waking up to. “Time to get up, Sugar.”

Seeing she was awake, he gently kissed her lips before he
stood to gather his shoes and she saw that he was fully dressed already. With a
yawn she sat up, uncaring that the sheet dropped to her lap. “What time is it?”

“It’s about eight,” he said turning toward her. Heat
immediately filled his eyes as his gazed dropped to her bared breasts. He
licked his lips and slowly brought his eyes back to hers. “You’re so
beautiful,” he whispered and she felt a blush heat her skin at the reverent
sincerity in his tone.

However, when he didn’t reach for her, just stood and made
his way to the door, she had to bite back her disappointment. “Get dressed,
baby.” He looked at her over his shoulder. “Before I come back over to that bed
and fuck your brains out.”

“I wouldn’t stop you.” Good Lord, was that husky tone coming
from her?

He groaned. “Don’t tempt me. Bad enough I have to wait to
get you home instead of waking you up like I did last night. Unless you
want
my brother to come home and hear us?” He arched an eyebrow at her.

Immediately her whole body flushed for an entirely different
reason. She had completely forgotten about Adam. “I’m getting dressed.”

Low laughter trailed after him as he exited the room and
shut the door behind him.

Quickly, she dressed and used the bathroom before making her
way downstairs to find Ben in the kitchen. There was no coffee or sizzling
bacon this morning but she felt so much better about her situation with her
man. And he
was
hers, every bit as much as she was his. She wasn’t
exactly sure how their relationship was going to work from here, but they had
time to figure it out.

“I’m surprised Adam isn’t back yet.” Not that she was
complaining. Actually, she was rather glad he wasn’t home right at the moment. She
didn’t know how she would be able to look him in the eye knowing he knew damn
well that Ben had made love to her in his spare bedroom. More than likely he
already knew what would go down, but he didn’t need to have the visual evidence
of it the morning after.

Ben got up from the kitchen table when he saw her enter the
room. “I’m surprised he’s ever home at all,” he said wrapping his arms around
her waist to pull her into his body. “But I’m glad he’s gone right now.” His
lips covered hers in a gentle kiss. She loved the way he tasted and she wanted
more. Bringing her arms up and sifting her fingers through his hair, she pulled
him closer and slid her tongue against the seam of his lips. He opened for her
and touched their tongues together, letting her explore his mouth at her
leisure.

On a groan, he pulled away from her. “C’mon, let’s get out
of here.” He pushed his hips into her, letting her feel the hard length of him
rubbing against her belly. “The sooner I get you home, the sooner I can be
inside you again.”

That sounded like a brilliant plan to her, she thought
trying to rein in her simmering libido.

This was a much more pleasant drive than the last one she
had experienced in his truck. One of his hands remained firmly linked with hers
and resting in her lap. They rode in comfortable silence but every once in a
while she would catch him looking at her. There was contentment in that stare
coupled with almost a disbelief. That they were together? That she was even
real? That was what she was thinking when she looked at him, anyway.

Never in her life had she ever felt like this with another
person. Despite all of his heretofore less than desirable qualities, he had
gotten deep under her skin. She had fallen for him so hard and so fast and it
wasn’t just a little frightening. Especially as she wasn’t sure just how much
she meant to him. Would he even want to continue seeing her once she had gone
back to the city? Seemed like he did, but they had never really spelled it out.
And if he did, what would that look like? Would one of them eventually have to
move? She cringed at the idea of being a permanent resident of this town. As
much as she loved Chloe and his brothers, she absolutely abhorred the way the
people of this town treated him.

She took a deep breath. They would figure it out when they
got to it.

“You okay?” he asked, squeezing her fingers.

Masking her unease over their future, she shot him what she
hoped was a reassuring smile. “I’m good.”

His eyes narrowed. “You sure?” He looked back at the road as
they pulled up to his house. “Because I know you’d tell me if—” He trailed off
when he caught a first glimpse at his driveway.

“Oh my God,” she breathed when she followed his focused
gaze.

His motorcycle, his pride and joy that he had built from the
ground up, was lying in crushed pieces scattered all over the driveway. It
looked like a car or a heavy duty truck, more likely, had run the thing over. Multiple
times. Angry red letters were spray painted over the white door of his garage
but she was suddenly too focused on Ben, his reaction, to comprehend what they
said.

“Son of a motherfucking bitch,” he spat, putting the truck
in park and turning it off before jumping out.

Scrambling out of her seatbelt, she quickly followed him. He
studied the damage to his bike briefly before his eyes locked on the garage
door and stayed there, muscle frantically ticking in his jaw.

That’s when the red words registered and bile instantly rose
to her throat. The words were a message and warning for both of them saying:

Next thing to get ripped apart will be your whore.

Unconsciously, she wrapped her arms around her middle and
tried to hold back the need to vomit. Is that what Paul had planned to do to
her last night? Tear her to pieces?

God
, she couldn’t even begin to describe how grateful
she was for Adam’s impeccable timing. His twin, however, remained eerily
silent, just stared at the garage door with murderous intent written all over
his face.
What the hell must he be thinking right now?

A twinge of guilt ricocheted through her and she couldn’t
help but feel somewhat responsible. If she hadn’t shown up into town with her
ridiculous, half-cracked schemes to improve her writing, she never would have
latched on to him and his bike would still be in pristine condition.

“Ben,” she started, stepping toward him not quite sure what
she was going to say. But it didn’t matter anyway because his soft words cut
her off.

“You should go.”

“What?” Instantly, she recoiled from the brisk finality of
his tone. He thought it was her fault too, then. But she couldn’t just do what
he said without at least
trying
to talk to him.

“I said, you should go,” he repeated, turning his back to
her to go to his truck, and click the button to open the garage door. “Call
Chloe to come pick you up. She should be home by now.”

He was calm as he walked into his garage and grabbed a
bucket and some cleaner before filling it with water in the utility sink. He
was too calm and he did all of this without looking at her once.

Now she was starting to get pissed. Underneath the anger,
though, was panic. He was shutting her out again and dread settled like a lead
ball in the pit of her stomach. “I’m not just going to leave you here, Ben.”

Pulling the garage door down but not closing it the whole
way, he said nothing as he started scrubbing at the spray paint, leaving his
bike to lie in a million little pieces on the ground.

For a few seconds she stood, not knowing what to do with
herself. Then she spotted the box of heavy duty garbage bags sitting on a bench
in the garage. She ducked under the door and grabbed them.

“What are you doing?” he snapped taking the box from her
before she knew he had moved. “Seriously, knock it off and call Chloe. I’ll
clean this shit up.”

Letting out an exasperated huff, she put her hands on her
hips. “Look, I know that this is my fault so at least let me help—”

“No.” The one word sharply cut her off again, his dark,
whiskey-colored eyes bored into hers. “Don’t you dare think for one minute that
this is your fault. It’s mine. Entirely.” His eyes drifted back to the door
briefly before he dropped his head and rested his hands on his lean hips.

“Jesus, Emma. This is so fucked up,” he whispered it but the
broken sound still hit her ears and just about ripped her heart out of her
chest.

“Yeah, it is.” That had him looking at her again. “Why
aren’t you calling the cops?”

The bitter laugh that escaped him then was not a pleasant sound.
“Because it would be pointless. I can’t prove shit and the cops around here
don’t give a fuck what happens to me.”

Rage started low in her gut and boiled through her veins to
eventually come out of her mouth. “That is such bullshit,” she bit out, digging
her phone out of her pocket. “I’m calling the police.”

He snatched her phone out of her hands, punched a few
buttons then turned his back on her before pressing it to his ear. She was too
perplexed by his sudden actions to stop him. After a minute he began to speak.

“Hey, Chloe. No, it’s Ben.” He shot Emma a look over his
shoulder. “Listen, can you come pick Emma up? She’s at my house.” His eyes
never left hers as he spoke and she felt like all the air had been sucked from
her lungs. “No, I can’t right now,” he said into the phone and averted his
eyes. “Okay, thanks. See you in a few.” He hit the end button and tossed her
the phone.

“I can’t believe you just did that.” The agitation was clear
in her voice but she was more than fine with that. He needed to hear it. “Why
won’t you let me help you?”

Meeting her angry stare with his own of equal potency, he
said, “Because I’m a worthless bastard who doesn’t deserve you or your help.”

Of all the things he could have said, that one she had
expected the least and it pissed her off even more. “Shut the hell up, Ben. You
know that’s not true.”

“Yeah, actually it is. I’m not good for you, Emma. Open your
damn eyes,” he bit out, gesturing toward the graffiti on the door in front of
them.

Oh, she wasn’t about to let him go there. “
You
didn’t
do that.
You
aren’t the one that wants to hurt me. That’s all Paul,
baby.”

He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “He’s only doing
this as retaliation for some fucked-up shit that
I did do
. I didn’t kill
Tim, not directly, but I shouldn’t have been into the shit I was into and I
never
should have dragged Tim down with me. People don’t change, Emma, and if you
stay I’ll just drag you down too.”

“But you
have
changed!” She screamed it at him. How
could she get it through his stubborn head, make him see, that he was so much
better than he ever gave himself credit for? “You’ve learned from those
mistakes that, by the way, you made when you were a
kid.
You aren’t the
same person that you were back then.”

“No, I really haven’t.” He shook his head and turned tired,
resigned eyes to her. “I’m not into drugs and alcohol anymore, but I’m still
listless. I’m just drifting around here, no ambition or direction. Why do you
think I have so many fucking jobs? There’s no substance here, Sugar.” He
gestured between them and suddenly her mouth went completely dry. “I know you
have this idea of what your man should be and you’re justified in wanting what
you want. But I can’t live up to it.”

Her hands clenched into fists at her side and she desperately
fought back the tears threatening to fall down her cheeks. “
All
I want
is you.
You
are everything I want my man to be. Just you.” She knew her
tone had turned pleading but that was okay. She
was
pleading with him. To
see reason, to understand that
he
was her ideal and she didn’t want
anyone else.

Closing his eyes, he dropped his head before he took up
staring at the ground. Her words and their meaning not penetrating, just
bouncing right off him. “I’m good for a quick fuck, that’s all. You deserve so much
better than that.”

Her entire body was physically vibrating from the force of
her anger. But she couldn’t change the way he felt and knew that nothing she
said was going to make a difference. He was determined to suffer as some form
of penance for what he perceived to be his fault. He truly believed everything
the ridiculous people of this town said about him and it made her feel
hopeless.

Behind him, she saw Chloe’s car pull up to the curb, but her
friend didn’t exit the vehicle, God bless her.

Following her gaze, Ben turned to see Chloe, then looked
back at Emma. The regret, anguish and stubborn resolve she saw in his
expression knocked the wind right out of her and she felt deflated.

“So I guess there’s really nothing left to say then, is
there?” she asked softly, feeling tears of anger, frustration and misery
prickling behind her eyes, but she held them in check, refusing to let him see.

He said nothing, just continued to look at her like his
entire world was falling apart but he lacked the will to stop it. So she
nodded.

“Okay, you’ve said your piece, now let me say mine and I’ll
go away. I didn’t want to drop this on you like this but I don’t think I’ll get
another chance and you need to know.” She took a deep breath. “I love you,
Ben.”

His expression turned fierce and the astonished pain she saw
there would have made her laugh if she didn’t feel like bawling her eyes out.
“I love you for exactly who you are, not who you were, or who other people
think you are. I know everything there is to know about you, Ben and I’m. Not. Running.
Away.” She separated the words for emphatic impact. “So when you get out of
your own way and stop letting your past dictate who you are. When
you
can see yourself the way I see you, come and find me.”