All of You by Christina Lee Read Free Book Online Page A

who he was. Or even his name. Either way, she’d never talked about him.
     
“Another time, then,” he said. I noticed that he had shifted closer to me and our shoulders were
     
almost touching. “Want a beer while we watch the movie?”
     
“Sounds perfect.”
     
He opened two beers and joined me on the couch. The opening credits rolled and he scooted over
     
close enough that our knees almost touched. I sipped and watched the screen, not even registering what
     
was happening in the movie. Thankfully, I’d seen it half a dozen times already, in case he wanted to
     
make small talk.
     
I was cognizant of Bennett’s every move. Like a current humming through the air. Every swallow
     
of his beer, every time his arm came down with the bottle and brushed alongside mine. When he reached
     
over to turn up the volume on the remote, his thigh rubbed against my shorts and I nearly flinched.
     
I was like some lovesick tween desperate to have my crush finally notice me.
     
As the movie played on, I finished my beer and became increasingly drowsy. During the big battle
     
scene, my head slumped toward his shoulder in the twilight of sleep. Bennett’s arm slinked behind my
     
neck as he nudged closer. When his fingers made small circular motions up and down my arm, my heart
     
pumped an inordinate amount of blood through my veins.
     
I wasn’t sure if he realized the impact his touch had on me.
     
I became intensely aroused, but pretended that I was still nearing slumber. If Bennett’s fingers
     
inched anywhere southward, he’d be fondling my chest. My breast practically stretched toward his
     
hand—begging for his undivided attention.
     
I couldn’t help wondering if my nearness was affecting him as well.
     
I’d caught him checking me out earlier, and he obviously wanted to spend time with me. I didn’t
     
get the sense that his invitation was out of obligation or pity, though I might have been mistaken. He’d
     
mentioned a girl he was seeing in one of our earlier talks, yet he still asked me to sleep over tonight.
     
I sighed and snuggled into his chest, carefully placing my fingers against his thigh. His leg muscle tensed and the hand on my shoulder paused. His breaths were brisk and warm against my hair.
     
So he wasn’t immune to me after all.
     
I didn’t know what the hell I thought I was doing. He specifically told me he was a commitment
     
kind of guy, and here I was messing with him, trying to prove some kind of point.
     
What was wrong with me? Did I need so badly to see what he was made of?
     
But I was entertaining other thoughts as well. Like maybe Bennett would eventually be open to the
     
kind of arrangement Rob and I had. Except that I was terrified I could lose myself in a guy like
     
Bennett—he’d be like a drug I couldn’t get enough of. And that was hazardous to a girl intent on being
     
in control. Being her own person—which didn’t gel with having any kind of relationship.
     
Bennett didn’t breathe a word as my fingers raked softly against his thigh. He sucked in a breath
     
and brushed his hand up and down my back and against the nape of my neck. The fire between my legs
     
only intensified. I resisted the urge to squirm and moan into his chest.
     
Once the end credits began rolling, Bennett straightened himself. But I was still against his
     
shoulder in a feigned state of sleep. When he removed his fingers from my hair, I lamented the loss.
     
“Avery,” he whispered. “Ready for bed?”
     
“Mmmm . . .”
     
He shifted away for a moment before I felt my body being lifted by strong arms. He smelled liked
     
coconuts and white sandy beaches. My eyes remained closed but I nuzzled into his neck, my lips resting
     
against his smooth skin. He stifled a groan.
     
His lips brushed against the top of my head as he carried me to his bed, and a wave of euphoria
     
pulsed through me. He laid me down facing the wall, the same position I’d