Unstoppable (A Country Roads Novel) (14 page)

“I wasn’t snooping. I found the list when I was fixing the drawers in your kitchen. Are you mad?”

“Yes. No. I don’t know. I wasn’t exactly sober when I wrote it, so I feel like I said a lot more things than I’d normally share with the public. It’s like you reading my diary or something.” Not to mention a significant number of those things on that list were Harper’s and Grace’s ideas, and they tended to be a lot more daring. Mel
had
agreed to every single thing they’d written down, but still this was just horrifying. “You read the
whole
thing?”

“Melanie, don’t overthink it,” he said. He brought his hands up to hers and pulled them from her face. “I saw it as an opportunity to get to know you more. To learn a little bit of what goes on in here.” He tapped her temple. “I read it without even thinking, and I’m sorry if that was going too far.”

He looked so sincere as he said it. She didn’t think he’d ever lie to her, or do anything to hurt her. His words counted for a lot. Probably way more than they should have this early on.

“I wasn’t lying when I said I thought the list was awesome. It’s really brave, too, to want to do all those things you’ve never experienced before.”

Brave?
He thought she was brave?

“Am I forgiven?” he asked, looking intently into her eyes.

“Umm, yes,” she whispered.

His mouth turned up in a smile, and a second later it was on hers. All Mel could really think about was the way his tongue moved against hers. When he pulled back a minute later, the heat that was now in her face had very little to do with embarrassment.

“You ready?” he asked.

She nodded and he pulled back from her.

“Good, come on,” he said, pulling her to the edge of the dock. “I borrowed this from one of the guys I work with.” He lifted up the seat and put the cooler inside. Then he slipped off his shoes and put his keys in a mesh pouch on the side. “You have anything you need to put in?”

“Just these.” She slipped off her flip-flops and handed them to him.

He put those in and gave her a life jacket before he started to put his on. Then he shut the seat and held out his hand.

“Ready?”

“Yes,” she said putting her hand in his.

He helped her sit, the Jet Ski rocking underneath her, and then he got on in front of her.

Holy shit, she was straddling him.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and held on, not only because she didn’t want to fall off when they got going, but also because she just wanted to touch him.

“Let’s go,” he said, pushing off from the dock before he turned the engine over.

When they were in the clear he rolled his wrist and they took off. She gripped his waist harder, her palms going flat against his stomach. He had a six-pack, and it was glorious.

Yes, she’d seen him with his shirt off at the beach before, but it was a whole new experience touching him. Feeling every inch of his defined muscles.

Every time Bennett hit a wave, Mel’s thighs tightened around him and her fingers moved against him. She was tracing his abs, and damn, did he love the way it felt. But it was driving him crazy.

They hit another wave, and as it splashed up around them she laughed. God, he loved that sound.

He wasn’t sure how long they drove around for because he completely lost track of time. When he pulled into a small cove, the dark clouds he noticed earlier were rolling in. He’d kept an eye on them, and he hadn’t seen any lightning nor heard any thunder. They were just rain clouds, so he figured they were good to not call an end to the afternoon.

Bennett pulled up to a public dock and secured the Jet Ski before he got off and helped Mel up.

“You thirsty?” he asked.

“I could use a drink.” Her hair was windswept and her cheeks were flushed.

Bennett lifted the seat and grabbed two waters from the cooler. “You want to go for a swim?”

“Yeah.” She pulled the string on her shorts and let them fall to the dock. She put her water down and took off her sunglasses before she grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it up over her head.

Bennett’s mouth went dry when he saw Mel in just her bikini, so he chugged the rest of his water. He’d seen her in a bathing suit before, but he didn’t remember ever liking it this much. It wasn’t one of those teeny tiny numbers that was only held together with string. The straps were thicker, and the triangles that covered her breasts were bigger than postage stamps. Again, she somehow pulled off modest and sexy all at the same time.

Bennett put the empty bottle next to hers and took off his sunglasses. He pulled off his shirt and dropped it on the dock next to hers.

Mel smiled as her gaze dropped to his abs, then she took a step back and dove into the water. Bennett followed, diving in and surfacing a couple feet from her. He swam toward the shore until he could stand and the water lapped at his shoulders. He wiped the water from his eyes just as Mel swam to him. She slipped her arms around his shoulders, and he pulled her legs around his waist.

“Hey,” he said, sliding his hands to her lower back.

“Hi.” Her hands came up to the back of his head.

He kissed her slowly. She opened her mouth to his and when his tongue touched hers, her entire body tightened around him.

Bennett wouldn’t have been able to stop the groan that came out of him if he’d tried. Nor was the water cold enough to calm the certain parts of his body that he needed calmed.

Then the skies opened up, and the water came down all around them. Mel pulled back and looked around. The rain was cooler than the ocean water and the contrasting temperatures felt good—not as good as Mel’s body wrapped around his, but good.

Mel stretched her head back further and looked up at the sky, exposing her neck as her ponytail dipped back into the water. She closed her eyes and the raindrops landed on her face, catching in her eyelashes.

Damn, she was beautiful.

Bennett moved one of his hands from her back and reached up to trace the bullet scar on her shoulder. Her head came up and she looked at him. There was an uncertainty in her eyes that he really didn’t like seeing.

“How’s your arm?” he asked.

“It’s better. Still healing, but I don’t think those scars are going to fade that much more.” She looked away from him.

“Melanie?” As he said her name softly, he moved his hand to her chin and gently pushed up.

When her eyes met his they were filled with sadness. “It’s just a constant reminder of that night. I wish I could forget it ever happened.”

“We all have scars. Some of them are just more visible than others.” He took one of her hands and placed it on his left shoulder. Her eyes dipped down, and her fingers traced the multiple scars from his bullet wound and surgery.

It was interesting to him that when they faced each other their scars were mirror images.

“They make us stronger. They change and shape you into something, but they don’t take anything away from what you are. Every part of you is beautiful,” he whispered right before he leaned down and pressed his mouth to her shoulder, kissing every single scar.

When he looked back up he saw tears in her eyes, but she was smiling.

“Thank you,” she said and returned the gesture. No one had touched Bennett’s scars since they’d healed, and the fact that Mel was the first felt right. Her sweet little mouth felt like heaven no matter where it was on his body. She spread kisses up his shoulder and to his neck, licking the water from his skin.

And then her mouth was on his again. This was another instance where time seemed to get away from them. Bennett wasn’t sure how long they stayed out there, but when he pulled back the rain was coming down harder. He looked at the clouds in the distance and knew that it was only going to get worse.

But if anything, the impending bad weather was the exact opposite of how he felt, because at that moment he’d never felt better.

When Bennett pulled into his driveway, the rain was coming down in sheets. The clouds were a dark gray, almost black, and they stretched out across the sky, with no reprieve in sight. Their clothes had dried slightly on the ride back to the house, but they were both completely soaked again by the time they got inside. The cold air from the air conditioner made goose bumps crawl across Mel’s skin. She started rubbing her arms.

Bennett put his hand at the small of her back and led her down the hallway. She shivered under his hand.

“Come on. Let’s get you warmed up,” he said as he opened the door to the bathroom.

He moved his hand from her back and went to the shower. He flipped the handle and water started streaming out. She watched him as he tested the water a couple of times until it warmed up.

One date. They’d had one date, and she already knew she was in for the count with this man.

God, nothing could describe how he’d made her feel when they’d been out there on the water. She’d never experienced anything like when he’d held her and kissed her scars. And then he’d gone and told her she was beautiful.

It hadn’t even been a week since he’d kissed her, since they’d started seeing each other. But she knew without a shadow of a doubt that she wanted him, that she wanted him right then and there.

Mel had never been one to really follow through with impulsive decisions, but she wasn’t going to run away from this one.

Life was too short.

She crossed the small space to Bennett and ran her hands around his waist. She pressed her body into his and stretched up to kiss his neck. He turned, and she caught the look of surprise on his face a second before she put her mouth on his.

His arms came around her and his hands were in her hair. He pulled back after a moment breathing hard.

“Mel?”

“You read the whole list, right?”

“What?”

“Number six was to find someone who knew what they were doing in bed. Do you think you’d know what you were doing in the shower?”

“You’re serious?” he asked, his eyes going hot.

“What do you think?” she asked as she let her hand slip to the front of his swim trunks. The second she touched him through the wet fabric his nostrils flared and he took a sharp breath.

Apparently it wasn’t always true that a man shrunk when he was cold and wet. Well, at least not with Bennett, because this man was hard and his erection more than filled her hand.

“I think we can start in the shower, but I promise you, I’m not going to stop until your legs are shaking.”

“Really?” she asked, sliding her hand up and down. “Prove it.”

B
ennett moved so fast that Mel didn’t even see it coming. She was pinned up against the wall and his mouth covered hers. His hands worked up under her tank top and he touched her through her bikini top. She was still cold and his warm hands felt incredible on her breasts.

He bent down and grabbed her thighs, pulling her legs up around his waist, their mouths never separating. He turned around and set her on the counter.

His hands went down to the hem of her shirt and he pulled it up over her head. He was untying the straps at her neck and back before her shirt even hit the floor. He pulled the material away, and when she was completely bared to him he took a deep breath and just looked at her.

He reached up and cupped her naked breasts in both of his hands, now touching her with no barriers. He ran his thumbs across her nipples. Back and forth. Back and forth.

She leaned her head back against the mirror and moaned.

“Got to love that sound,” he said right before his mouth descended and he sucked one of her nipples into his mouth.

She brought her hands up to the back of his head and arched up, pushing herself further into his mouth. He switched sides a minute later, providing her other breast with the same delicious torture.

And then he was working his way back up, kissing the space between her breasts and nibbling a path up to her neck. But before he got to her mouth he pulled back from her and reached to the side.

He opened the second drawer and pulled out a box of condoms. He opened the box, pulled out a string of them, and ripped one off before he leaned to the side to set it on the ledge of the shower.

Mel reached down and grabbed the hem of his shirt. She pulled it up and off, and threw it to the ground. She ran her hands down his chest, tracing his muscles with her fingertips.

Bennett closed his eyes and tilted his head back, breathing deeply. She continued her southward journey, and when she got to the top of his shorts his head snapped up and he stilled her hands. “Wait a second. You first.”

He pulled her off the counter and into his arms. Her naked chest was pressed up against his, and she didn’t think she’d ever felt anything so perfect before. His chest hair tickled her nipples, turning her on even more.

His hands moved down her back slowly, and when he got to her shorts he pushed them down her hips, dragging her bikini bottoms off with them. Her clothes fell around her feet and he helped her step out of them, taking a long look at her naked body.

“You’re so fucking beautiful.”

“
Fucking
being the appropriate word,” she said. Her hands went to the tie on his shorts, and she pulled at the knot.

Bennett grinned as she pushed his shorts down his hips. “Why, Melanie O’Bryan, look at the mouth on you.”

“Is that all you want to do with it? Just look?” she asked as she reached down and took him in her hand. She also took the opportunity to look at him in all of his naked glory.

Damn he was beautiful, too. Every single, defined inch of him.

“No,” he groaned from deep in his chest, as she began to stroke him. He grabbed her face and pulled her mouth to his, and his tongue worked her mouth in much the same rhythm in which her hand was working him.

After a minute, he stilled her hand and pulled it away. Then he grabbed her hips and walked her backward toward the shower. He helped her up, and the second they were both inside he had her pressed against the wall. The water rained down around them, making everything hot and slippery.

There wasn’t a single inch of Mel’s body that was cold anymore.

Bennett reached down to the apex of her thighs. He slid a finger inside of her and then two. He stroked her for a minute before he dropped to his knees.

“Bennett?” Mel said his name with more than a little bit of uncertainty. She had a feeling about what he was going to do, and she wasn’t all that sure she was ready for it.

“Shhh.” He bent his head down as he parted her with his fingers.

Mel gasped when his mouth came down on her and she forgot how to talk when he added his tongue into the mix. No man had ever put his mouth on her like this before, and holy shit she’d never known what she was missing. This was perfection. She was going to go off just like this, with his fingers and mouth working her like magic. But that wasn’t really how she wanted it to go, at least not this time around.

“Stop,” she said gently pushing him away.

“What’s wrong,” he asked looking up at her, water dripping down his nose.

“Nothing, I just, I want you inside me.”

He didn’t say anything, just stood up and reached behind him to grab the condom. He opened it and rolled it on and then he was pulling her legs up and around his waist and sinking into her. Mel couldn’t stop the moan of pleasure that escaped her lips. And neither could Bennett apparently, because one rumbled through his chest. He felt so incredible inside of her.

He stilled, waiting for her to adjust around him. She nodded and he started to move. In and out. In and out.

He knew
exactly
what he was doing, and he took his time doing it. She felt like a freaking live wire, and she was going to go off any minute. Everything felt so good.
He
felt so good. She didn’t want it to end. She wanted to feel him moving inside of her for just a little bit longer.

She tried so hard to hold off, but her climax was inevitable.

“Bennett,” Mel gasped his name as she pulled her mouth from his. She looked into his eyes as she came around him, saying his name over, and over, and over again.

He followed a second later, her name on his lips.

Bennett was slumped against the shower wall. His face pressed into Mel’s neck as he held her up, her body still pulsing around his.

There weren’t words for what had just happened.

He’d never had sex like that before, so all consuming and flat-out amazing. And he’d sure as hell never come harder in his life. He was surprised he was still standing.

He
was
still standing, right?

He’d told her that her legs would be the ones shaking, but damn if she hadn’t done it to him. He pulled back and looked into her face. Her expression mixed shock and satisfaction, which mirrored what he felt.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Am I okay?” She laughed. “I’m so far past okay. That was…” She shook her head, at a loss for words. “
Incredible
doesn’t seem adequate.”

“I know what you mean,” he grinned and he brushed his mouth over hers.

He slowly let her legs drop, and when she was able to stand he took a step back from her, pulling out of her. He took the condom off, stuck his hand out of the shower, and threw it into the trash can. And then he came back to her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her body flush against his.

They took their time in the shower. Bennett grabbed the soap and lathered it up, then ran it across every inch of her body. He loved touching her. Loved how she responded to everything. Loved how she responded to
him
.

He washed her hair, his fingers massaging her scalp. The second he was done rinsing the soap away she had her hands on him.

“My turn,” she said, giving him a wicked grin as she grabbed the bar of soap.

Yeah, by the time she was done with him he was ready to have her again, but he didn’t want it to be in the shower. He turned the water off and grabbed the towel on the rack next to the shower. He wrapped it around his waist and stepped out.

“Give me a second,” he said, quickly leaving the bathroom and stepping out to the linen closet.

He grabbed two clean towels and came back to her. She was still standing in the bathtub, dripping wet, and so sexy he couldn’t handle it. He was going to need all night to learn every facet of her body.

Bennett couldn’t fucking wait.

He dropped the towels on the counter and helped her step out of the bathtub. He grabbed a towel, unfolded it, and held it out for her. She turned and he wrapped it around her. He lifted her wet hair from her shoulders and gently ran the towel through it. When it wasn’t sopping wet anymore, he grabbed the other towel and moved in front of her.

“Come here,” he said, taking a step back and bringing her with him.

He unfolded the towel as he sat down on the edge of the tub. He dried her breasts first, then her belly. He moved the towel behind her and dried her bottom, then moved down to her thighs.

When her legs were dry, he grabbed her waist and pulled her between his thighs. He kissed her breasts, running his tongue underneath them.

“I thought you were supposed to be drying me off,” she said, rubbing her hands across the top of his head.

“Am I not?” he asked, looking up at her.

“No, quite the opposite, in fact.”

“Really. Well, this involves some further investigation.” He moved his hand between her legs.

“Ahh, Bennett,” she moaned, as he slid two fingers inside her.

Yup, she was wet all right.

He moved quickly, getting to his feet and picking her up in one swift movement.

“Oh,” she gasped, startled.

Her towel fell from her shoulders, and Bennett’s fell from his waist. It wasn’t like they were going to need those, anyway. He adjusted her in his arms so he could grab the condoms from the counter, and then carried her to his bedroom. He set her down on her feet so he could pull the covers back. Then he kissed her as he laid her back onto the bed.

He really wanted to take his time exploring her body. He wanted to put his mouth all over her. But she wanted to put her hands all over him, and there was only so much he could take before he had to be inside her. He reached out to the nightstand and tore off another condom.

Mel decided she was going to help him put it on, though all she really did was drive him crazy. They were both breathing heavy and shaking when it was finally on. Their need for each other was so strong, it was like they hadn’t even done anything in the shower.

Bennett had wanted to go a little slower this time, but that plan was shot to hell the second he was inside her again.

She was so damn ready for him.

She bent her legs, planting her feet at his hips and changing the angle of their bodies, making him go deeper. She apparently didn’t want slow, either, because she was arching up into him and matching his movements.

Her head fell back onto the pillow, her eyes closed in what looked like pure ecstasy. Bennett buried his face in her neck. He couldn’t help himself; it was at the perfect angle, begging for his mouth, and tongue, and teeth. He nipped at her skin and then soothed it with his tongue. Mel’s hands were at his back, her fingernails digging into his skin, urging him on harder and faster.

And then she was crying out as she came around him. Bennett’s control snapped and he let go, letting everything overtake him.

He didn’t want to collapse onto her, so he rolled and brought her with him. She was sprawled across his chest, her hand on his pec and her fingers playing with his chest hair. He rubbed one of his hands lazily up and down her back. His other hand cupped her bottom holding her against him.

They lay there slowly catching their breath, and after a minute he looked down at her. She smiled at him, and damn if it didn’t knock the breath out of him all over again. He pressed his mouth to hers, kissing her gently.

She hummed and drew back to look at him. “Well, I can cross number six off the list,” she said, looking quite satisfied.

Bennett knew he’d never appreciated that satisfied look on a woman’s face quite as much as he did when it was on Mel’s. And he never wanted anyone else to put that look on her face. Just him.
Only
him.

“Yeah?” he asked, smiling. He was feeling pretty damn pleased himself.

“Oh yeah. Well, now that that’s done. I should get going.” She put her hands on his chest and attempted to push herself away.

“What?” He frowned and tightened his grip on her to keep her from moving. “You’re leaving? You can’t be serious.” He was in no way finished with the night. In no way finished with
her
. He wanted her again, and again, and again.

“I wasn’t,” she said with a grin.

Relief washed through him. She was just messing with him. Well, two could play at that game. She squealed as he rolled over and pinned her to the mattress. Her hands were stretched up above her head.

“You think your funny, do you?” he asked raising his eyebrows.

“Well, see, I don’t have a private list of yours to read to figure
you
out, so I’ve got to use other means.”

“You want me to write down that I want you to stay?” he asked above her lips. “I’ll paint it on the fucking walls.” He kissed her, not so gently this time. No, he ate at her mouth. When she was good and breathless and writhing beneath him, he moved to her neck, kissing and licking his way up to her ear. “Stay with me, Melanie,” he whispered.

And the moaned
yes
that came across her lips a second later was enough to make him hard all over again.

“Oh. My. God.”

Mel stared at her reflection in the mirror, her mouth hanging open, horrified with what she saw. Her hair was about three times the size it normally was. Her curls were a frizzy mess that stuck up all over her head.

Mel and Bennett might have spent another hour rolling around in bed. His wandering hands and delicious mouth had a way of making her forget everything. She’d never experienced so much pleasure in such a short amount of time. He had absolutely no difficulty setting her off.

Justin’s odds had been about one in four. Maybe it was a chemistry thing that they’d been lacking. Mel wasn’t sure, but whatever she’d been missing with Justin, she had with Bennett. In spades.

“It really isn’t that bad,” Bennett said from behind her.

She looked up at his smiling reflection,
soooo
not amused.

“You did this,” she said, turning around to look at him. “You and those wandering hands of yours.”

“I can’t help myself,” he said. He turned them so that he was leaning back against the sink. He widened his stance and brought Mel between his thighs. “It’s instinct for my hands to go to your hair. Just like I always want my mouth on you.” He moved in to kiss her. But she dodged his mouth. Never one to be deterred, he kissed her throat instead.