I gulped. “Yup.”
Then I forced my eyes open and stepped where he gestured. His hands came up on my butt to boost me into the taller top bunk, and then I was rolling inside.
The mattress was surprisingly soft. And roomy. When Ben vaulted in after me, we still had a bit of space. A tiny sliver of room, but more than I’d expected. And the top of the bunk was far enough away, I wasn’t worried about bashing my head.
He propped himself up on his elbow next to me and reached out to brush my hair from my face. My breath hitched. The soft light overhead provided just enough light so I could see his hawkish, golden eyes burning down at me. And the spark in his eyes was tender and made me all melty inside.
Ben cocked his head. “What is someone as beautiful as you doing with someone like me?”
“Pretty sure that’s my line,” I whispered back.
He shook his head. “You can have anyone you choose. But I’m going to enjoy every fucking second I have with you right up ‘til you figure it out.”
And before I had a chance to parse together whatever the eff that meant, he leaned over me and kissed me. His lips moved insistently over mine, taking the kiss to a hot and heavy place so much quicker than last time. His hand came up my body but didn’t stop where I ached for him to touch. He just cupped my cheek and kept kissing me.
My hands twined around the back of his neck. After a few moments, I burrowed my fingers into the tangle of his hair and groaned against his lips. He was so freaking talented with those lips, I could do this for hours.
But Ben had other ideas—thank god.
He nuzzled his way to my neck and suckled gently at a spot just under my jaw. I moaned, arching into him. I wanted to feel him on top of me. Pressing into me. I moved restlessly on the bed.
Ben, smart man that he was, took the hint and swept a hand over my body, teasing the tips of my aching breasts with a skillful touch.
“How the fuck do you get this off?” he muttered, pulling at the suddenly heavy jean fabric covering my chest and most of my body.
“There’s a zipper at the side.” I sat up slightly and unzipped the side, but then ran into trouble since my jacket was still tied around my waist.
Ben laughed huskily. “You’re wearing too many clothes.”
I pulled the jacket away, threw it over the side to the ground, and then shoved my hair out of my face. “Me? What about you? You have all that—” I gestured to his long-sleeve t-shirt hoodie and his jeans. Not to mention his shoes.
That sparkle came back. “Someone’s eager.”
“Yes. Take off your clothes. Now.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Ben laughed again, and in seconds, his shoes and shirt followed my jacket and was quickly joined by his jeans.
I didn’t know how he did that so fast in this cramped space. Meanwhile, I was struggling with my dress.
“Here.” Ben pulled at the bottom of my dress, and then it was up and off my body and sailing over the edge of the bed.
Leaving me in only my tiny panties. I didn’t have enough of a chest to worry about a bra with that dress. And as I leaned back against the pillow, I didn’t have to wonder if Ben liked what he’d found.
“Holy shit, baby. You’re just…so fucking perfect.”
My whole body burned under the heat of his gaze. And he definitely liked what he saw, judging by that awed note in his voice.
I bit my lip as I looked at all the skin he currently had on display. The man was freaking built, all sculpted muscles and tattoos. So many tattoos. A huge hawk stretched across his pecs, spanning his whole chest. Here and there, scrawling text marked his skin, but I couldn’t really make out the words. Flames licked up one arm while vines twined down the other. Large rocker letters arched over his abs, but the position and the dim lighting made it hard to make out. Bells? I couldn’t really tell. Constellations speckled down one leg and I spied cartoon characters on the other. I couldn’t see his back, but I was pretty sure the only place that wasn’t tattooed was his neck and face.
The man was a literal walking work of art. Between the muscles and the tattoos, it was impossible to know where to look. And then there was that face. Gah. I don’t know how I’d ended up here, but I didn’t want to leave. Ever.
And we hadn’t even gotten to the fun part yet.
While I’d been busy gawking, Ben had been doing the same with mine. I don’t know what he found so spellbinding. I was a B cup and most of my body hadn’t seen the sun in ages. Oregon wasn’t exactly known for its party beach scene—this weekend notwithstanding. So I was all pale skin and skinny bones for the most part. I was the opposite of a stress eater, which meant I’d lost quite a few pounds this past year. And I didn’t have a single tattoo since I was a wuss when it came to pain.
“Baby.” Ben groaned low and deep in the back of his throat. “Fuck.”
I was gonna take that as a compliment. Mostly because of the look in his eyes, but also due to how his cock was currently straining the structural integrity of his briefs.
