When I Was Theirs

7. Emmy

7

Emmy

I wake up sprawled against a very hot, very hard, very male golden chest.

It takes me a second before the heat runs over my body in a remembered rush.

Beneath me, Ben is still fast asleep, his breathing steady. I turn my head to watch him, smile tugging at my lips. His hair is a mess from my fingers, and there’s a mark on his neck that might be from my teeth.

My smile growing, I twist my head to rest it back against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. It thrums beneath my ear, surprisingly fast. Almost like a hum.

I slept the whole night through, listening to it.

No nightmares.

“Good morning.”

My own heart skips at the low, gruff words. Ben’s eyes are half-open, his arm tightening around me. “I slept?”

Wordless, I nod.

He looks surprised. “I don’t sleep much.”

Ben’s hand slowly traces down my side, dancing over the puckered skin he pressed his lips to last night. His brow creases. “I want to ask.”

My smile softens into something else. “Not yet.”

He watches me for a moment before he nods. His hands don’t stop moving, stroking my skin before he murmurs his agreement. “Not yet.”

His head tilts, leaning in for my lips before I slam my hand over my mouth.

Hello, morning breath.

His lips twitch up into a grin. “Kiss me, Emmy Marsters.”

I shake my head wildly, my hand still over my mouth. “In a minute.”

He starts laughing, my body shaking with the force of it. “I want all of you. Including your morning breath.”

“Ben—,”

I squeal as his arms wrap around me fully and he rolls us, until I’m under him and he’s leaning over me. My mouth is open when he presses his lips against it, still smiling. “There you are.”

I lose myself for a minute. To his lips, and his warmth, and his touch. Ben’s fingers are where they were buried last night when I pull my head away with a gasp. “I have work. At the florist.”

He doesn’t stop. “It’s six in the morning.”

“I start – ah ! Early. Ben .”

“I start early too.”

I’m laughing, and he’s grinning, and I’m late for work.

It’s easy to lose myself in him.

Too easy.