All or Nothing (11 page)

Watching Ben devour his second stuffed pork chop gave Presley a ridiculous sense of pride. Luckily she had bought three large pork chops, along with the makings for bread stuffing and the potatoes to bake. Her first instinct had been to give him leftovers, now she was just glad she had enough to feed him a meal.

She took one last bite of her potato and pushed her plate away, satisfied to relax for the moment. She had no intention of overstuffing herself. She had plans for tonight and having a full belly would only get in the way.

“Either you like my cooking or you’re a really good liar,” she said, rubbing it in.

“If you’ve ever eaten anything like I have on a mission, you would think a fresh sandwich was gourmet.”

“Oh, so it’s not my cooking, but rather your weak taste buds.”

“Are you done?” he asked, ignoring her comment and eying her plate that still had a quarter of her pork chop left. When she nodded he speared it with his fork and transferred it to his plate. “This is really good.”

“You sound surprised.”

“I am surprised. But pleased just the same.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, causing him to chuckle. Picking up her wine, she took a small sip. She wasn’t much of a drinker, but the occasional glass of wine didn’t bother her. “Well then, I guess my surprise is done for the night.”

“Oh no. No way. You owe me for today.”

“You make it sound like torture,” she said, setting her glass back down.

“It was. I’ve gone through SEAL training that was less stressful than walking through the mall today.”

She knew he was joking but glared at him just the same. If he really hated it that much but still went with her, then she was more touched than she cared to say. When he pushed his plate away and sat back, she asked, “You full now?”

He looked at the stove. “Do you have anymore?”

“No,” she said. “But there is some broccoli left.”

With a wrinkle of his nose, he said, “I’ll pass.”

No wonder there. She hadn’t missed him choking a few pieces down. But he didn’t tell her he didn’t like it, so he got credit for that.

She stood up, grabbed her plate and walked to the sink to rinse it out. She jumped when he laid his hand on her backside. “How do you
do
that?”

“What?” he asked innocently.

“Sneak up on me. I don’t understand how someone as big as you makes no noise when he moves.”

He shrugged and walked back to the table to gather the rest of the dishes. Together they made quick work of cleaning up.

“Now it’s time for my real surprise, and it better be good,” he said swatting her on the butt.

“And what if it’s not?” she asked, challenging him.

“Then I’ll just take over for myself.”

She saw he wasn’t joking, not one bit, and hoped he didn’t see the shiver that ran through her body.

***

“Just give me a few minutes to get ready,” she told him after they walked into his bedroom.

“Ready? This is getting better and better.”

“Oh, believe me, I’ll make it up to you for dragging you to the mall.”

She rushed into the bathroom where she had dropped the bag earlier, quickly undressed and tied her hair back out of the way. Pulling the pink retail bag out of her overnight bag, she opened it up and removed the tags from the white silk teddy she had seen in the window display.

It had been close, but she’d managed to run into the store fast, grab her size off the rack, and rush to the counter to pay before Ben returned from his phone call. Now she pulled it over her head and tied the silk ribbon between her breasts, drawing it together. The waist was sheer netting and the bottom of the teddy was silk again.

Quickly securing the snaps between her legs, she took one final look at herself in the full-length mirror. Turning once, she looked at her behind and saw it barely covered her—just like she wanted. She hoped he liked his surprise.

Opening the door, she was the one who got the shock, and she was afraid he heard her gasp. She knew he had to have seen her freeze.

There he was, in the middle of the room, arms crossed in front of him, legs shoulder width apart, biceps tugging his shirt tight. The smile across his face a total contradiction to the intimidating stance he held. And there was enough heat in his eyes to set the house ablaze.

Taking a deep breath, she used her best strut forward, stopping right in front of him and mimicking his stance. He raised an eyebrow at her, and she returned it, then met him stare for stare.

She decided to make the first move; after all it was her surprise. Uncrossing her arms, she wound them around his neck, leaned in close and asked in a silky voice, “Do you like?”

One second she was waiting for his response, the next she was laying on her back on the bed. She had no idea what had happened, it was just a blur. She was in his arms, shifted once and then he laid her down as he came over her, his jeans and shirt rubbing against her bare skin, making her squirm.

He kissed her hard, held her still, his hands trapping hers to the bed above her head. The blood was rushing so fast and loud in her ears, she thought surely she was going deaf. But she wasn’t deaf at all, because she heard every word he slowly whispered in her ear a minute later. “I’m going to make you beg tonight.”

She shook her head, helpless to speak, but he didn’t care. “Trust me, you
will
beg me tonight.”

No way. She wasn’t doing it. She had more willpower than that. He could try, but it wasn’t happening. She held those words back. He wasn’t the type of person you challenged, she knew.

His lips moved from her ear to her neck, then down her chest, and over her breast. Her nipples were pebbling through the silk, the smooth texture a form of torture in itself. And he took advantage of it, pulling her nipple into his mouth, swirling his tongue around, then sucking some more. When she thought he was done, he only moved his mouth a tad and blew hot breaths against her. The wet material that was sticking to her slowly peeled off and the sensation was more than she could bear. She had no control of the groan that escaped her lips.

He moved to the other side and repeated the same actions, until the top of her teddy was wet and clinging to her. She couldn’t even grip his head or hold him—he still had her hands trapped above her head. But she refused to ask him to let go. She wasn’t going to speak a word to him.

Agonizing minutes later, he made his way down her stomach, kissing, licking and sucking, wetting the material there too. Then blowing on it again, letting it stick to her, then peel away. At last he let go of her hands, traveling further down her body.

He was relentless, soaking the silk material between her legs. Running his tongue along the edge of the teddy, then inside and out again. Teasing her mercilessly. She just wanted him to undo the snaps but wouldn’t ask. Refusing to give him the satisfaction.

Grabbing his head and holding him there, she hoped he got the hint, but he didn’t. He just pushed the wet material into her, then blew on it again as it dried and pulled away from her.

She honestly wasn’t sure how much more she could take. Biting her bottom lip hadn’t stopped the moans from escaping and she was only causing herself pain. He knew what she wanted, but he wasn’t giving it to her.

The frustration of it all was driving her insane. Finally though, he slid one finger inside of her, and her hips jerked off the bed, pushing her closer to his mouth. Still, he refused to give her what she wanted, just continued to torment her, bringing her to the edge of madness, trying to get her to say the words she refused to voice.

In and out he went, his mouth, lips, and his breath blowing. She was right there, he knew it, she could tell, but he kept stopping and starting over, until she wanted to scream, every nerve standing on end.

He looked up at her, grinned wickedly and finally sent her over the edge. Her hips lifting up higher and faster while his mouth moved around with his finger inside of her. She was so limp and utterly spent, she barely registered that he didn’t make her beg, that she actually won.

***

It was all part of Ben’s plan. He knew Presley was strong, but he hadn’t expected her to hold out this much or this long. Now he was looking forward to hearing her beg. But in all honesty, he was slowly losing his own control.

He made quick work of undressing, then grabbed a condom from the bedside drawer. She was lying there all smug and sure of herself. But she had a lot to learn, and he couldn’t wait to teach her.

He straddled her waist, placed his hands over her chest, caressed her softly, watching her eyes lighten just a fraction, and in one swift motion ripped the teddy apart, exposing her to him.

“Hey,” she said.

“I’ll buy you another one. Then I’ll rip that one off you, too,” he said in a low voice, her body trembling, causing his smile to widen and the blood to rush through his veins.

Covering her body with his, he slid inside of her, heard her gasp of pleasure and suppressed a hoot of victory. He could go all night—she had no clue the type of control he had over his body, or his mental strength. But she was going to find out.

In and out, slow, then fast, he built her to the verge, then pulled out completely, and went back to teasing her skin, then blowing on it. The noises she made fueled him even more. So he teased her again and again, slid back inside and mentally congratulated himself when her hips slammed up into his.

He gripped her hands and restrained them to the bed above her, wanting to hold her down. Her hips started to move faster, but he pulled back. Every time she pushed up, he moved back until she stopped. Then he started the torture all over. He knew the game she was playing and he was going to win, anticipating her moves.

She was tiring, her body growing weak, but her pleasure building higher. He had her right where he wanted her. He had pushed in slowly, immobilizing her to the bed with his hips, holding her there, and refusing to give her anymore. Not until she gave him what he wanted, what he needed. Moving his lips to her ear, he whispered, “Tell me what I want to hear, Presley.”

Her head shook back and forth rapidly. She wasn’t ready to concede, yet. That was fine with him. He was enjoying it all just the same. But it was slowly killing him, not that he would admit it. He pulled her earlobe into his mouth, bit down, his hips pushing in further, sending him deeper and filling her completely. “You know you want it, Presley. All you need to do is say one word. Just one word and it’s all yours. Everything you want,” he whispered slowly, her body vibrating under his.

She was actually panting with pleasure now. His own blood was running thick and hot, powered by her reaction to everything he was doing to her. But she continued to shake her head back and forth, never giving an inch.

He wasn’t letting up though. He brought her right to the brink, heard her breath catch, then pulled out completely, and left her wanting more.

“No,” she moaned.

Waiting just enough time for her to come down, he then entered her fast again, caught her inhale with his lips, and kissed her long and hard. Moving in and out, he then halted her movements with his hips on the bed one last time. “Say it, Presley,” he whispered in her ear. “You know you want to. You know you want it.”

A few more motions of his hips, and her legs were wrapping around his waist. He was slowly losing the battle himself and wondering why he was doing this. Why he was holding out for the word. It seemed he was only tormenting himself in the process. In a frenzied motion his hips pushed into hers, faster, her hips meeting him movement for movement. “Now, Presley, give me what I want. Tell me,” he demanded.

The moment he felt her muscles constrict around him, she shouted out. “Now Ben, please, now, don’t stop.”

He was lost in that moment, slamming into her harder and harder.

Completely drained, he lay over her, keeping his weight off her body. Her breathing was hard and fast, his own not too steady.

“Two can play at that game,” she whispered.

He hoped to hell she didn’t hear the knocking of his heart, because it wasn’t from exertion.

“Ben, wake up. Wake up, Ben.”

How had he fallen asleep? It was his turn to stay awake, and he always did. Sleep was never an issue for him. If he needed to stay awake and alert, he was the man for it.

“Ben,” his name was called, with a nudge at his shoulder. In a panic he realized if he’d fallen asleep, then what happened to Trent? No way Trent was waking him up. Lack of sleep had always been Trent’s weakness.

There was a strong grip on his shoulder now, urging him awake. “Ben.”

He bolted upright and looked around the dark room anxiously. “Trent, where are you?” he asked frantically.

“Ben, are you okay?”

Looking around the dark room some more, he realized it was his bedroom, and he was in bed. The person that had been trying to wake him up was Presley. Dread filled him immediately, mixed with a bit of anxiety—how was he going to explain this away? He had done such a good job at keeping this part of his life a secret. Now it seemed it was thrown out in the open like a flesh-eating wound.

“Yeah,” he mumbled and lay back down, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her back against his chest. He needed her body heat right now to counter the freezing inside of him, the icy fingers of guilt and fear gripping at his soul.

They lay there in silence until he became aware of her hand on his, tracing his thumb that was rubbing against his ring. “Is this ring Trent’s?”

“No.”

“Does it have something to do with him?”

“Yeah.”

She exhaled softly, snuggled in closer, and threaded her fingers through his. “And you’d rather not talk about it, either.”

“Yeah.”

“Then just hold me. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”

***

Presley woke early the next morning alone. She rolled and reached a hand over to feel Ben’s side of the bed. It was cold. Throwing back the covers, she sat on the side of the bed, her head in her hands, inhaling in and out, trying to get a grasp on the situation.

Last night when she felt his body shaking and he was mumbling Trent’s name, she gently tried to wake him. She’d never seen him like that, so out of control. And so hard to wake up. That alone alarmed her. He must have been completely lost in whatever he was dreaming about. Obviously it wasn’t a good memory, because not only would his body not stop shaking, but his hands were also ice cold.

She wished he would have talked to her, but she really couldn’t blame him. If she were in his shoes and had a bad dream about her past, she wouldn’t want to talk about it either. Mainly, that was what kept her mouth shut. Quid pro quo, and she wasn’t ready to share any parts of her past at the moment.

Looking at the remnants of her teddy on the floor—torn to shreds—she stood up naked and pulled open a drawer, grabbed one of his T-shirts and threw it over her head. Adequately dressed for the moment, she set off in search of him.

Walking down the stairs to the main level, she heard music playing and figured her best bet was to follow it. Veering toward the kitchen increased the noise, but not enough for him to be there. Then she saw an open door that must lead to the basement, and she followed the sound down the stairs.

Shock was a mild word for his basement. She had thought his house was nice, all newly remodeled—well, he did say his brothers had remodeled it, and she had seen some of their work before. But the basement was the quintessential man cave.

She absolutely didn’t expect that from him. The room was massive, filled with large comfortable furniture, a bar in the corner, and a huge flat screen TV on the wall. She squinted her eyes… were those video game consoles in the cabinet?

Shaking her head, she followed the music down the length of the room to another open doorway where she got her second shock.

There was Ben, wearing only athletic shorts, hung low on his hips, running on a treadmill at a controlled—rather fast—pace. Sweat covered his upper body, and she had a sudden urge to go up and run her hands over every inch of him.

Even though she had seen his body in all of its glory, she had never seen it in motion like this. She had all she could do not to fan her overheated hormones at the moment.

Pulling her eyes away from his chest, she looked at his face and saw the big grin he was sending her way.
Caught.
Oh well, there were worse things than to be caught ogling a hot man in front of you, especially if it’s the man you are currently sleeping with.

Leaning a shoulder on the wall, she crossed one ankle over the other, then crossed her arms in front of her chest, the shirt rising up more on her thighs. “Looks like you’ve been at it for a while?”

“About forty-five minutes. Cute shirt,” he said, nodding.

Forty-five minutes.
He wasn’t even out of breath. She would bet he could carry on a conversation with her right now the same as if he were sitting at the kitchen table. “Someone ruined the clothes that I was supposed to sleep in last night.”

“Want me to hunt him down and rough him over for you?” he asked, his eyes sparkling.

“Nah, I can handle my own. I know how to get even,” she said mischievously, and added a glare for good measure. Which only produced a laugh from him.

She was glad to see he was smiling. She actually was unsure how to proceed this morning, after she had woken him up last night. He seemed to want to pretend it didn’t happen and she was more than willing to go along with it. Less messy that way all around. “How much longer are you going to be?”

“Just another fifteen minutes or so. Do you need to leave already?”

“No, I’ve got plenty of time. I just thought I would make breakfast for us and we could have a relaxing morning before you brought me home to get ready for work.”

“Good,” he said, genuinely.

“Well, I’ll let you finish up. I think I’ll go take a quick shower first, then start on breakfast. By the time you’re done and then showered it should be ready.”

He nodded. She pushed off the wall and turned to walk away. Before she could step away from the doorframe he called her name. She stopped and turned. “Yes?”

“Thanks.”

She smiled at him, knowing what he was thanking her for. It didn’t need to be said. Maybe she wished he had talked about it after all, because now Kaitlin’s remarks about helping Ben heal were making more sense.