“You drove Jack nuts.” Vaughn chuckled.
“You guys had to justify every penny to me—for homecoming, prom, the senior class trip, everything. It was wonderful.” Benita licked her lips at the memory.
“Jack wanted to impeach you.” Vaughn’s husky voice shook.
The comment burst her happy bubble. Vaughn had shared that insight before.
“You can’t impeach a treasurer.” Benita scowled. “Can you?”
“If you hadn’t relented on the prom theme, we would’ve found out.” His voice was full of laughter. She still couldn’t decide if he was serious.
“Whatever happened to the football player who ran against me?”
“He works on Wall Street.” Vaughn propped his elbow on the table and cradled the side of his head on his palm. The movement brought him closer to her. She could smell his soap. Her heart fluttered.
“Are you serious?” It was a struggle to concentrate on their conversation, especially since she didn’t want to.
“He must have gotten Ms. Helen’s speech on money and power.” The warm laughter glowing in Vaughn’s eyes was like a caress.
Benita’s body responded to it. She didn’t want to lose this man. Could she find a way to hold on to him as well as her dream of living in L.A.?
“I’m glad losing the election for high school senior class treasurer didn’t distract him from his career goal.” Benita stood, carrying her empty tea mug to the dishwasher. She could feel Vaughn behind her.
“He seems to have everything: a job he enjoys and a family he loves.”
“His life does sound perfect.” Benita turned, finding Vaughn too close. She extended her hand for his mug, placing it beside hers in the dishwasher. “And what is it that you want?”
“What I’ve always wanted—you.” His voice was low, dark, and deep.
CHAPTER 13
Yes!
Benita didn’t know how she ended up in Vaughn’s arms, but it was exactly where she’d wanted to be since the last time she’d felt his embrace. He held her so tightly to him. She felt every long, hard inch of him against every welcoming part of her. Delicious. His touch made her body ache. Benita twined her arms around his shoulders and slipped her hands up his neck and over his clean-shaven head. His skin was warm and smooth. Electricity coursed through her.
Vaughn’s mouth moved over hers, caressing her, teasing her, filling her with anticipation. Benita parted her lips to catch her breath and Vaughn swept inside. His tongue slipped past her entrance, giving her a taste of what she could have again. And she wanted it. She craved the way he made her burn. She needed the excitement of touching him, tasting him. She longed to hear her name on his lips that way. But most of all, she ached for him to know she was the only woman who could give him what he needed. She would start by showing him what he liked.
Benita stepped away from Vaughn, ending their kiss. He looked at her with hot cocoa eyes. Benita braced her hands on his shoulders and leaped, wrapping her legs around his hips. Vaughn’s eyes glowed. His hands squeezed her hips, pulling her tighter against his torso. The message in his eyes made Benita dampen. Her breath caught.
She lowered her head for another kiss. But this time, she took control. She pressed her way inside and explored. She ran her tongue over his teeth. He held her tighter. She stroked the roof of his mouth. His body trembled. She suckled his tongue. Vaughn groaned, long, low, and deep in his throat. A shiver of awareness rippled through her blood.
Vaughn turned and crossed the room. He stopped when her back pressed against a wall. “I don’t want to drop you.”
“You’re stronger than that.”
Vaughn groaned. “You make me weak.”
His words, his touch, his taste, his scent, his everything conspired to make her head spin. She lowered her hands to tug his jersey over his head. Vaughn helped her. Her lips parted with awe as her gaze ate up the broad expanse of muscled nutmeg torso. Her gaze followed the narrowing trail of hair until it disappeared between them. She lowered her head to kiss him again. Her fingers played in the hair on his chest.
Vaughn tucked a hand between them. A tug at her emerald silk blouse let her know he was freeing the row of buttons on the front of her shirt. Benita kept kissing him, tasting his lips, caressing his mouth, sucking his tongue. Vaughn stepped back from the wall and stripped her blouse free. A pull at her bra and the flesh-colored lingerie followed suit, falling to the wall-to-wall cream carpet.
She was topless before him. Her perch at his waist left her bare breasts practically at mouth level. Benita’s breath grew shallow. Her pulse beat harder. Her nipples pebbled, aching for Vaughn’s lips.
He lifted his gaze to hers. His cocoa gaze was scalding and intense. “You’ve always been my fantasy.”
Benita’s heart melted. She offered him her breast. Vaughn drew her into his mouth. He suckled her, nipped her, rolled her on his tongue. Benita cupped the back of his head. She moaned her pleasure as her body flooded with desire.
Vaughn nudged her legs free of his waist. Together, they quickly disrobed, leaving their clothes in a pile near their feet. Benita’s gaze rose from Vaughn’s large, bare feet to his long, lean legs, and up to his bold erection. Her body grew hungry at the sight of its thick, proud length. Benita stroked it with her fingertips. Vaughn caught his breath. Benita lowered herself to her knees to taste him.