Ben smirked, followed by the delicate biting of his lower lip before he leaned down to kiss her. He kissed her with intensity, pushing passion through her to get her to relax and open up to him. He hooked his hand behind her neck while the other explored peaks of her body, teasing, taunting, pulling them to electrify every reaction. When she climaxed again, he slipped inside of her as if they were always meant to be together. They moved in unison with Ben holding her in place to dig deep enough to stroke that elusive spot making her cry out in ecstasy one more time.
Tara shot up from her dream with her fingers smelling like sex. Her robe came off at some point as she patted the bed down to search for it. The sheets covered her body, a body that only wore a t-shirt and short shorts from the shower she took earlier. She could tell that she’d slept in the bed alone. The darkness of the room made her squint as she searched for Ben. He sat in a chair in front of the balcony door. His legs stretched out with his ankles crossed on top of the rickety railing that she was sure couldn't stand up to a decent balcony romp.
Heat flooded her cheeks when she noticed Ben’s eyes were open. He’d been awake during her sexual dream whispers, at least, she hoped they were only whispers. She searched for her phone, only to find it plugged to her charger on the nightstand. It was nearly one in the morning. She couldn't believe she'd slept for almost six hours when that salacious dream seemed to pass by in minutes. She wondered if she went back to sleep right now, could she pick it up from where the dream left off.
“Ben?” Her voice barely rose above a whisper.
“Yes, Tara?” If he’d heard anything, he certainly didn’t give it away.
“We can get out of here if you want. I know the chair isn’t the most comfortable.”
“It’s okay,” he assured her, “It’s far more comfortable than the car. Besides, it’s late, and I’d feel better if we both got some rest. We can head out in the morning.”
“Okay," she nodded, slightly thankful she could go back to sleep. First things first, she opted to wear her pajama bottoms for the rest of the night, hoping the barrier would keep her fingers from playing with her desire while she slept. When she finished slipping the pants over her flimsy shorts, she glanced at Ben, who simply held a stoic gaze still fixed to the peaceful world outside of the balcony door.
“You can share the bed with me, Ben,” she offered once she was dressed. “We can sleep head to toe, you know?”
“Thank you, Tara, but I’ve slept in worse places than this chair. Go ahead and stretch out. Besides, you’re a bit of an active sleeper.”
Tara knew that. Danielle told her on numerous occasions that she’d been kicked out of the bed during their sleepovers. It only got worse when she drank. She was thankful Ben didn’t have to see that.
“How active?” she started to laugh but was interrupted by a yawn.
“I’d be more comfortable on the floor since I’d probably end up there anyhow,” he chuckled, “Don’t worry about it. I don’t want to disturb those vivid dreams of yours. Go on back to sleep. Maybe you can pick up where we finished.”
Tara’s eyes went wide as she watched Ben get up from his chair and disappear into the bathroom with the same devilish grin on his face as the one he wore in her dream. She wanted to press him more. How much did he hear? Or better yet, how much did she say?
Embarrassment draped itself over Tara as she slammed the pillow over her head. It didn’t last for long because sleep found her soon enough. Unfortunately, the dreams didn’t pick up from where they left off, much to her disappointment.
8
While Ben loved hearing the murmurs and coos of Tara’s restless sleep, he knew he wouldn’t get any rest with her whispering his name in her sleep. It made him smile. It made him want to hear it from her lips while she was wide awake to take every ounce of pleasure from it and to dote on her. When he came out of the bathroom, her head was buried under the pillow with her body language clearly telling him she was asleep.
He thought about heading downstairs to sleep in the car, but this wasn’t a road trip with a friend. He was hired to protect the case. He wanted to protect her. The silhouette of her body under the blanket tempted him to want to touch her. He wanted to wake her up and bring her to ecstasy. He watched her fingers and wanted to taste them, wrap his tongue around them. He wanted to suck her juices.
Ben purposely turned away from Tara to eye the case in the dark room. He needed to remind himself why he was there. The moment he shifted his train of thought, sleep found him in his chair, facing the balcony that overlooked the parking lot.
In the morning, Ben and Tara gathered their belongings to pack into the car. They had a long day of driving ahead of them and wanted to hit the road as soon as possible. Ben loaded the case onto a luggage rack he retrieved from the lobby. As soon as he wheeled their bags to the lobby, Tara went to check them out while he brought their stuff out to the car.
The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as that tingling sensation in his gut returned. Ben placed the bags and case into the back of the car with his eyes trying to identify
