Jason’s hand slipped under my shirt, warm palm against my smooth skin. It made me tense all over, my toes curling inside my shoes in what space they had. I squeezed my fists around Jason’s jacket and pulled him in, kissing him as if he belonged to me.
I didn’t fool myself into thinking that he did, but he wanted me now, and I was a whole new Bennet because of it. I was someone who could live in the moment and not overthink it, as I always would have. I was someone who could simply do this with Jason and not fall apart tomorrow over the uncertainty of our future together.
Jason kissed me harder, thrusting his tongue into my mouth freely and knowing I wouldn’t just welcome him, but match his excitement.
There was something deeply liberating about licking Jason just like that. I never would have done it with someone I didn’t trust. Zooming out, this would have looked like the most awkward, weirdest thing to do to someone. Except…
Except.
Except it was Jason.
Jason, who only grinned and teased and made himself ready for more.
Jason, who would match my freak and double down at every turn.
Jason, who wanted me as much as I wanted him.
Well, that part was debatable. I had no idea what Jason really wanted. I just convinced myself that I didn’t know either way.
I ran my fingers through Jason’s hair, feeling the coarseness of his curls. His full, honey-sweet lips dragged over mine before I closed my hand around a fistful of his hair and pulled his head back. “I want you…” I said, losing my breath and trying again. “…to use me. However you want.”
Jason’s eyebrows rose a little, curiosity and interest sparkling in his dark eyes. “Like a toy,” he said, not exactly asking.
“Like a toy,” I said, words vibrating on my lips and sending tingles down into my groin. My stomach was hollow, and my heart thundered as I heard the sound of my own voice. “If you could do anything,” I whispered, pulling him close to feel his whole body press against mine. “What would you do?”
“Everything, Bennet,” he said, voice dropping an octave lower and sending a deep rumble through me. “Every delicious, sinful thing you can think of.”
I nodded. “Do it.”
Jason’s hands took me by the hips, lifting me easily off the ground until I gasped and bit my lip to keep myself from yelping in surprise. My legs wrapped around his waist, and my upper back slid against the door as Jason moved his hands lower, grabbing my ass and supporting my body.
I threw my arms around his shoulders and leaneddown, kissing him from above as locks of my hair fell onto his brow. My glasses got in the way, just like they always did, and I pulled my head back to take them off.
Jason lifted one of his hands, still holding me like it was nothing to him, and reached for my glasses. He took them gently, making my heart flutter once, then set them on the dresser by the door. The gentle, caring move ended, and Jason pulled me down to keep kissing me.
He carried me to the bed in three big steps, then bent down, making me tense up all over because he couldn’t possibly remain balanced like this, but he did. I could feel his muscles flexing and locking as he bent down and placed me onto the mattress.
“Take off your clothes for me,” he said in a deep purr that sent needles down my arms. “Slowly.”
Lying on the bed, catching my breath, I looked at the towering figure before me and the glowing coals of his eyes. Jason bit his lip, waiting patiently, and I began to untuck my shirt, undoing the button on my pants and pulling the zipper down.
Jason shrugged his jacket off and crossed his arms on his chest.
Before I pulled my pants down, I resisted the intensity and the weight of his gaze. I began unbuttoning my shirt instead, one after another, undoing them bottom up, and revealing spans of my flat stomach and my chest, little by little.
A corner of Jason’s lips ticked upward, amused, andhis nostrils flared as he drew a shaky breath into his lungs.
I lifted my torso to take the shirt off, throwing it on the floor and pulling myself higher up the bed, sliding a little out of my pants. There was no mistaking what he was doing to me. My cock pitched a tent in my black briefs, stretching them thin where the tip pushed the hardest.
I throbbed even as his gaze swept the length of my body.
No matter how many times I had given myself to this flaming, irresponsible, impulsive desire between us, it never felt old. It never felt anything other than fresh and new and devastatingly necessary. I needed it like I needed oxygen.
“Stop,” Jason said and took a step toward the bed.
Something glimmered inside my chest. There was no other way to describe it. It felt like I imagined brilliance to feel.
Jason lowered himself to his knees at the edge of the bed, pulling my pants to my ankles. He took my shoes off, then threw my pants behind his back. His hands rested on my ankles, then rose slowly along my shins, moving inward around my knees and tracing my inner thighs until my skin prickled and my breath hitched in my throat.