“A Sauvignon Blanc, great choice!”

  She took his jacket and hung it in the hall closet. “Well, this is pretty much it,” she said, waving her arm around the living room. From the front door, the kitchen, the dining room and the living room were visible. “Back there, around the corner, kind of, is my bedroom. And the bathroom if you need it.”

  “This is a cute place,” he mused, nodding, and looking around. “Good construction. Just enough.”

  “Yeah, I like it. Though, like you, I have a collection of things in storage back in Ocala. Just waiting to need a place big enough to put them somewhere. Maybe when Rae is out of school, but she’s talking about moving to LA or New York when she graduates.”

  She’d been talking while she worked, dishing up plates of chicken and rice, adding a few spears of steamed broccolini and a roll to the side. “We can eat in the living room. Make yourself comfortable.”

  They sat on the couch, side by side, plates perched on their knees and ate, talked and laughed through Best Man Holiday.

  “You know how I know Terrence Howard is a good actor?” Sage asked, as the credits rolled. She picked up Bennett’s plate and carted it to the kitchen with her own.

  “You can’t hardly stand the dude, but you have to see every movie he’s in?”

  “Exactly!” Sage squealed, pointing at Bennett, who had made himself comfortable, stretching an arm long the back of the couch, removing his shoes and crossing his socked feet under the coffee table. “That’s exactly it. I wouldn’t share air with that man, but he sure knows how to bring a character to life.”

  “Maybe we heap our feelings about the characters he portrays onto the man?”

  “No, I don’t think so. I think he’s an ass.” Bennett laughed, which made Sage laugh too. “Hey, you want some ice cream? It’s that no sugar added stuff. I heard you at the shop, when you said you couldn’t really handle the sugar in cookies.”

  “Yeah, a scoop will do me.”

  Sage brought two small bowls, each holding a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, to the couch. She sat next to Bennett, but closer than she’d sat for dinner.

  “Do you have diabetes?”

  “Nope,” he replied, licking the cold cream off of his spoon. “Just old. Ever since about 40, I can’t hold my liquor and sugar gives me all kinds of problems.”

  Sage chuckled, scraping the bowl with the edge of her spoon. “You aren’t old. The kids say seasoned. I like that.”

  “That sounds good. Seasoned, then.”

  He finished the bowl and slid it on to the table. Sage’s bowl joined his a few moments later. When she moved to get up to take them to the kitchen, he landed a hand on the smooth dark skin of her thigh, exposed by the split in the dress.

  “Don’t get up yet. Relax. You said you wanted to talk, earlier. What about?”

  “Oh…” Sage tugged at the dress to pull it down some. It had ridden high on her hips and her entire leg was hanging out of it. But then… in a moment of sheer determination to step outside of herself and do things she wouldn’t normally do… she left it.

  And laid a hand on top of Bennett’s. He turned his hand over, palm up. She slid her palm across his and let him close his big hand around hers.

  A shiver coursed through her, though she wasn’t cold. Just… aware. Aware that she was in her apartment, alone with Bennett Alexander, a man who had occupied her thoughts since the moment she saw him.

  “The other night…” She shook her head. “I guess I was just too deep inside my head. Day to day, I don’t really know what’s happening. Some days I still feel married, like I could roll over and he should be right there. Some days I just know that I know that I know that he’s gone. I feel so empty and so lonely.

  “I get that way around the holidays. Then Rae and I fought over whether I was trying to replace her father, and I thought I was fine, but those words just kept circling my head. Like buzzards. Like a record on repeat. I mean…”

  She shifted, moving, so she faced him, could see him more easily. “Bennett, I… I like you. And I know we don’t know each other, but I like what I know. And I’m… seasoned, too, so I’m no dummy. I know that feeling is mutual. And… I just got scared. Terrified.”

  “Of… what, though? It’s not like I proposed, or anything.”

  “That’s exactly what I told Rae,” Sage answered, laughing. “But then, I guess I didn’t listen to myself. I got hung up on missing Gordon and wanting someone to be with and I felt like it wouldn’t be fair to you if that’s all it was.”

  “Sage… listen. If something pops off between us, I’m all good about it. If all it ever is, is some fun for you and me? It’s worth it. I miss Virginia. I miss sex and kissing and having somebody to hold on to, somebody to give tight hugs to, somebody to take to dinner, to spend time with. Am I trying to replace my wife? No… not in so many words.”

  “But it’s not unrealistic to think that’s what’s happening.”

  “Sure. And I don’t know about you, but I’m dealing with a lot of guilt over that. But I like you more than I feel guilty about liking you. I want to spend time with you more than I feel guilty about wanting to spend time with someone new.”

  Sage nodded, understanding his dilemma completely because she was in the same spot herself. “I feel better, knowing I’m not alone, here.”

  “Good. You know what would make me feel better?”

  Sage smiled, knowing what was coming, but asked anyway, “what would make you feel better?”

  Bennett leaned over until his lips were so close to hers, she could feel his breath on her skin. She closed the distance, tipping her head up so her lips pressed into his in a gentle kiss. He pulled back, then went in again, this time with parted lips and a breathy sigh, capturing her tongue as it flicked out to meet his.

  Sage sucked in a long breath through her nose, then heard the pleasured moan before realizing it was actually her. Bennett chuckled, mid kiss, then hummed mmmhmm before moving in closer and deepening the kiss.

  Before Sage realized it, she was on her back. Bennett hovered, dusting her skin with his lips from her chin to her neck, down her chest, tracing the path of the scallop neck, down one side and back up. He tasted the glowing skin of her breasts, lingering there for the most amazing few minutes of her life, recently.

  “Oh… God… Bennett.”

  He hummed but didn’t stop. He kept exploring until his teeth found the tight pearl of her nipple through the dress and her thin, lacy bra. He nipped it lightly, over and over. With each nip, a spark shot through Sage, pushing out a whimper that grew in volume until she couldn’t take one. more. second of teasing.

  She gripped the collar of the dress and pulled it back to reveal the simple, black lace bra, then freed herself from the bra and, without even thinking about how she should be demure and tease him and not give in too easily or too early, she grabbed Bennett’s chin and pulled him down to her, guiding his warm mouth and wet tongue to close over the bud and rasp over her nipple. Over. and over. And… over.

  Familiar waves of arousal washed over her, making her drunk and heady with desire, with want. She wanted Bennett in every way possible. He had relaxed, settling between her legs, moaning as he licked and sucked, circling first one nipple, then after freeing the other, doing the same. She was pulsing, head to toe, but especially at her core. Her body bucked and writhe under his, and when his hips hunched into her, she yelped at feeling the thick lump.

  “Bennett!” She gasped, pushing up onto her elbows. “Wait!”

  7

  Bennett

  * * *

  Bennett was as surprised as he imagined she was to find himself laying on top of her, her skin marked with evidence of his enjoyment. When she sat up, uttering a strangled cry in his ear, he panicked.

  Bennett lifted his head, freezing all motion. “Do you need to stop? What’s wrong?”

  Sage pushed against his shoulder, forcing him up. “I don’t want to stop. I don’t have plans to, anyway… but if you do, we need to upright, on opposite ends of the couch, because…”

  She shook her head slowly, a grin creeping across her lips. “Like I said, it’s been six years. I’m way past ready.”

  Relieved, Bennett sat up. “I don’t want you to think I planned on this. Or that I expected it.”

  “But I did,” Sage replied. She swung her legs from the couch and stood, grabbing his hand and pulling him up. “Come on. Let’s get where we can relax.”

  Sage’s bedroom was… small could be a word. Miniature would be a better fit. The bed was a full size because that’s all that would fit in the room. A five-drawer chest stood against one wall and the other was, Bennett assumed, a closet, the kind with the doors that slid to one side or the other. He guessed as well that the closed door led to the bathroom.

  What the room lacked in size, it made up for in character and decoration, with a purple-pink theme. Blown glass vases with silk flowers bearing all shades of purple, photo frames in deep eggplant and bright fuchsia, and matching bedspread and curtains in royal purple with gold pinstripe woven through it.

  “It’s not much to look at—” she said, but Bennett stopped her, pausing her with a finger to her lips. Then he replaced his finger with his own lips and kissed her. When he pulled back, he was cradling her face in his palms.

  “I have no complaints about this room. It’s very… you.” He kissed her again and stepped back. “Where do you want me?”

  Bennett thought he heard ‘all over me’ but he wasn’t sure. Sage muffled it, pulling her dress up and over her head. She tossed it to the corner nearest the closet and disposed of the wispy black lace bra the same way. He pulled his t-shirt up, but Sage cried out for him to stop.

  “You’re opening my present, man. What’s wrong with you?”

  A sultry laugh rolled from her throat as she tugged on the hem of his t-shirt and slowly slid it up, revealing a taut belly and molded chest. So he wasn’t a cover model with a six pack and pectorals that danced all by themselves. He was, by every definition, a beautiful man.

  “Okay, this can come off. Arms up.” He lifted his arms and grabbed the shirt to help her pull it off. “Put it anywhere. You won’t need it for a while.” Then she reached for the band of his jeans, nimble fingers loosening his belt and then the top button, then slowly tugged down the zipper… so slowly he thought he might lose his mind, or at the least wave her fingers away and rip the zipper down himself.

  She pushed his jeans down his thighs; he kicked first one leg and then the other until they pooled at his ankles. He stepped out of them, then used his foot to push them behind him, where he’d dropped his shirt. Now he stood in her bedroom in just his briefs.

  “Come sit,” she said, directing him to the edge of the bed. As soon as he sat, Sage climbed onto him, straddling him and sitting on his lap. His hands cupped her fully exposed breasts. Her nipples were hard, aching for his fingers. Or his mouth.

  She moved a breast towards him and fed a nipple into his mouth. He sucked on it greedily as she moaned softly, her hips beginning to grind against him. As he sucked one breast, he fondled the other, flicking the nipple, causing peals of pleasured sounds and more forceful writhing. He switched from one to the other, making sure they both got the attention they deserved.

  In a swift move, Sage pushed his shoulders, so he was laying back on the bed. To match her sudden moves, Bennett grabbed her by the waist and pulled her down, rolling on top of her. “I think we’re both still overdressed.”

  “Don’t have to tell me twice!” Sage bucked her hips up and so she could pull the thin boy shorts down her legs. Bennett did the same, writhing out of his briefs, then sinking back into place. Sage was warm and soft, but solid, beneath him. He liked this, feeling her skin to skin. And sensing the heat that was coming from her body.

  He rolled to his side and reached out to smooth a hand down her thigh, then back up the inside, toward the warmth. Sage’s legs opened a little wider to make room for his exploration. The first touch was light, barely there. Sage gasped and tensed, and when Bennett pulled back, she reached down to lay a hand over his. “Don’t stop. I’m just… the anticipation…”

  Bennett could understand that full well. He was almost, but not quite painfully erect and anticipated some reciprocal touching and stroking, but first he wanted Sage to be comfortable with him. So he took his time, rubbing and teasing her, in awe of how wet he could make her just by touching and kissing her.

  They were both a sweaty, panting mess, but the feeling of being intimate again was so intoxicating, he didn’t dare stop. When Sage reached for him, wrapping her hand around him and beginning to stroke him, he thought his eyes might roll back into his head. It had been… years since anyone else touched him. Five years, nine months, and twenty-four days, to be exact.

  He released a loud grunt into the air, and his hips bucked with the rhythm of her movements. “Sage… I—it’s been a long time. I might not—”

  “Shhh,” she hissed, cutting him off with a kiss. She gripped his shoulders then and pulled him so he was between her legs again. His body was sending out signals like morse code, searching for her heat, her warmth, something to sink into. Once again, she gripped him, but this time it was to guide him to her.

  “I’m ready, if you are. I want all of you, Bennett… please.”

  That whimper, that tone of pleading in her voice did him in. He positioned himself and pushed into her, almost filling her with a single stroke. He pulled back and plunged again. And again. And… oh God, again and again and again.

  * * *

  Sage

  * * *

  “Yes, fuck me, Bennett!”

  Shit. Did that just come out of her mouth?

  She suspected so, because Bennett chuckled, then grabbed her legs, hooking his arms behind her knees so she was wide open. He hovered above her, bucking his hips, using his whole body to bring her the most pleasure she’d experienced in… well, ever.

  Gordon was a perfect lover, but that was just it. He was tidy, liked to tick off boxes. Licking? Check. Sucking? Check. Petting? Check. The old thrust-thrust-thrust move to the slow grind, back to the thrust- thrust-thrust until he brought it home? Check. For twenty-three years, that was how it had been, and since she’d never been with anyone but Gordon, she thought that was how it was supposed to be.

  Until Gordon died. And one of her friends gave her a pornographic movie as a gag gift. And when she finally got up the nerve to watch it, she became… curious about how other men made love. Had sex. Did the do.

  Bennett was satisfying every curiosity. And then some. He liked to vary in length and depth. He liked to pepper her with kisses in between strong, satisfying strokes. And the sounds he made? She gushed at the thought.

  “You good?” He asked, his face mere inches from hers. She stretched up to kiss him, starting a dance with his tongue that she felt the pit of belly, which just made her grind into him harder, meeting him plunge for plunge.

  “I’m real good right now, Bennett. Don’t stop, never stop…”

  “Gotta stop sometime, baby girl. I promise you’ll be worn out when we do, though.”

  At that moment, to her surprise, Bennett pulled out. She started to sit up, propped on her elbows. “What happ — ohhhhh.”

  She fell back again at the sensation of his tongue rasping over her clit, then taking it into his mouth to suck on it, then more nipping and licking until she was climbing the walls, grunting and yelping in indescribable pleasure.

  This… this was something Gordon rarely did for her. Maybe on special occasions he would venture south, but rarely. She’d never known any different, but now that she had? Holy fuck. She clung to his head, holding him between her thighs while she writhed against him. Then it was so much… too much…

  Her climax hit hard. And loud. She ground herself against his mouth, eking out every bit of her first orgasm that wasn’t self-induced in six years.

  “That was amazing to watch,” said Bennett, kissing his way back up her body. “You’re beautiful when you come. Ready for more?”

  “Hell yeah,” she answered, right before he entered her again, picking up his long, hard, pounding strokes. “Fucking… shit! I’m gonna come again!”

  “Do that shit,” he said, exertion showing on his face. “I’ll go when you go.”

  Sage found that… sexy. And not just sexy, but sensual. He was getting off by watching her get off. And get off, she was. She wrapped her arms around his torso and bucked her hips into him, grinding her clit on his pubic bone. The most delicious sounds and parts of words and phrases were uttered through clenched teeth, grunted into her ear.

  Bennett worked with the strength of ten men; Sage was deliriously on edge… and then fell over the cliff of a body stiffening, convulsive, explosive orgasm, apparently taking Bennett with her, from the loud grunts and the shitshitshitshitshit he grunted into the air.

  He collapsed, as if his legs had just given out. He heaved breaths, sucking in air, his body coated in sweat. In a few minutes, it seemed, he gathered the strength to lift his head, find her lips and kiss her. Not a wild, passionate kiss, but an acknowledgement of what they’d just shared.

  “That was… so incredible.” Sage reached for a pillow from the head of the bed and tucked it under her neck.

  “Yeah?” Bennett said. His voice was raspy, like his throat was dry. “And to think… that was just the first time, when you run into all the snags and kinks. Next time, it’ll be better.”

  Sage paused. “Next time? There’ll be a next time?”

  Bennett’s head lifted from his resting place on her chest, between her breasts. “You’re gonna give me just one taste of Sage Owens and then cut me off?”

  “I wouldn’t dream of doing that to you,” she said with a giggle. “I just… was hoping it wasn’t weird for you. You know, to not be with Virginia.”

  Bennett paused, as if to contemplate that. “I don’t think weird is the word. Just… different. How about you?”

 

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