Ben Morris is my BFF. He is my rock during high school, as well as being my lunchtime and study companion - we do everything together. He is a cute guy; blond hair, blue eyes, average physique, funny, smart and supportive - everything I want in a potential boyfriend.

That is until we hear about the prom.

As it is the senior prom, I am excited as it is my last-chance dance to celebrate the end of school and more importantly, a chance to lose my virginity. And I know who to lose it to .

A day after the prom is announced, I seize my chance to ask him. After finishing my lunch, I push my tray to the side and cross my arms on the table.

“So, how do you feel like going to the prom with me? Last chance before we go to college?” I ask, smiling.

“With you? Sure,” he grins, wrapping up his sandwich wrapper and bag into a ball.
 
Elated, I decide to look for dresses that night that would not only look amazing, but hopefully get Ben to see me in a different light.

A couple of days later, a rumour goes round that Ben is going to the prom with Cassandra Harris, a petite redhead who is an aspiring athlete. She is the complete opposite of me; a Chinese girl with long limbs, long hair with an almost curvy figure.

He is supposed to be my best friend and he goes behind my back - he doesn’t even have the nerve to tell me to my face. How dare he?

I see him talking with his friends in the canteen. Marching up to him, I force the sandwich from his hand to catch his attention.

“Is it true?” I half-scream, capturing the attention of the whole canteen.

“Jesus, Beth, what the hell?” he says, astonished.

“You said you were going to the prom with me, then I hear you’re going with someone else. Were you planning on telling me? I thought you were my best friend!”

“What’s the big deal? Like it’s any concern of yours!” he yells, standing up to face me.

“But I…” I start, but he interrupts me.

“You’re so needy, Beth. Grow up!” he shouts.

I pale, unable to believe he just said that. I want to cry, but I realise that everyone is staring at us. Swallowing my anger, I stare at him under my eyelashes.

“Fine. You go and do your thing, but this, whatever is between us, is over,” I whisper, barely containing my rage. He stares at me with a horrible smirk on his face and with that, I stalk out of the canteen before I publicly burst into tears.

As soon as I reach the stairs, I sit down on the cold steps and let the tears slide down my face. All those years of friendship are shredded in a single moment due to a stupid rumour and a hissy fit of jealousy. Had Ben been laughing behind my back the whole time we had been friends? The thought upsets me even more. I quietly sob into my hands, unable to process the huge loss from my life that has been destroyed so quickly.

“Beth?”

I look up and see Mark Taylor, a member of the school football team. We share science and English classes together so we know each other, but have never had an actual conversation together. I always thought he was a good-looking guy, but he had never taken any notice of me.

“Oh gosh, hi Mark,” I stutter, scrambling to wipe the tears off my face.

“You okay?” he asks, awkwardly giving me a crumpled tissue. I eye it with a sceptical look.

“It’s clean,” he quickly adds.

I reluctantly take it, wiping my nose.

“Thanks,“ I manage to smile.

“So, are you okay?” he gently urges me.

“I’m fine, it’s just … stuff,” I say, heading towards my locker. I am already opening it and stuffing my books inside when Mark stands next to me, leaning against the side.

“You look pretty upset. Do you want to talk about this ‘stuff'?” he asks, raising an eyebrow. Stilling, I look at him, puzzled.

“I doubt it is really worth your time,” I mumble, trying to keep my eyes down but there is something about his green eyes and his tufty dark brown hair.

“Possibly, but I’m a good listener. Leave me a note if you change your mind,” he says, lightly banging the locker two away from my own before he turns and walks away. Realising that must be his locker, I watch him walk away.

Wondering whether he is serious in his offer, I decide I have nothing to lose and tear out a piece of paper from my notebook and scribble something quickly:

‘If you don’t mind me talking about ‘stuff’, meet me in the car park after school. Beth’

I push the note inside the locker as the bell rings for the next class.

************************

Mark is already waiting by his car by the time I leave school. As I approach him, he immediately straightens and waves at me. Waving back, I get some strange looks from classmates as I shyly walk up to him.

“You sure you want to do this?” I ask him sincerely. As a response, he just smiles and opens the passenger door, inviting me in.

We drive to a diner around 20 minutes away and sit in an empty booth. I’m unable to figure out what his angle is, but Mark recommends a slice of apple pie and sits there patiently. With a sigh, I blurt out the problem with Ben and how we were best friends for years and that he screwed me over. I talk for so long that the cream on my pie melts before I finish it.

“Wow, tough break,” he sighs when I am finished.

“You can say that,” I murmur.

“Well, he is an idiot. If he treats you like that, I’m surprised that you were best friends for so long,” he says, taking a sip of his soda.

“Thanks,” I smile, causing Mark to stop a forkful of pie in mid-air.

“You know, that’s a really nice smile. I’d like to see that more often,” he comments, making me blush from the inside out.

We begin to talk about normal stuff, such as films, bands, our plans for college - it is a chilled-out afternoon. I am amazed at how much we have in common. We have more pie, coffee and I laugh for the first time, in a long time, without Ben. We talk for so long that the sun is about to set when we leave.

As we head towards the car, Mark gently pulls my wrist to stop me.

“I had a really great time tonight, Beth,” he says, facing me.

“Me too. Thanks for listening, Mark - I really appreciate it,” I reply, adjusting my bag strap on my shoulder. I don't realise he is holding my hand until he is inches away from me.

“Well, I hope I don’t seem too forward, but I’d like to do this again,” he says.

“What, listen to my problems over pie and coffee?” I joke, but he steps in a little closer, hooking a loose tendril of hair behind my ear that escaped my messy bun.

“No, I’d like to take you out, spend time with you and if I’m lucky, make you smile again,” he breathes, causing my mouth to drop and my eyes to widen. No-one has ever said that to me.

I have been single throughout high school and a month before I graduate, I have a chance to date someone from the football team. Talk about bad timing.

As soon as I find my voice, words tumble out of my mouth.

"Are you free Friday night?"

********

The following two weeks have been the most romantic in my life. Two days after the diner, Mark took me out to the movies on our first date. The following date, we watched an open-air concert from the park a couple of towns over and last week, we went exploring around a food market.

I never thought that someone from the football team would be so sweet but Mark really is. He holds my hand when we walk, he knows obscure rock bands and old martial arts movies and when it was cold the other night, he gave me his jacket so I wouldn’t get ill.

Tonight, we return home from another night at the movies and we are standing outside my front door. As I fiddle with my bag for my keys, Mark patiently waits for me.

“Thank you for tonight, it was really great,” I say.

“My pleasure. So, I’ll see you tomorrow?” he asks.

“Okay,” I reply with a smile, leaning forward to kiss my cheek.

This ruffles me slightly. Every date we have had, Mark ends it with a gentle kiss. He has kissed my cheeks, my nose and my forehead, but never my mouth. However, I have noticed that every kiss lingers longer than the previous one so he must want to kiss me too. As Mark's lips leave my warm skin, my self-restraint snaps.

“For God’s sake,” I mutter and immediately grab the nape of his neck to press my lips onto his.

I can taste hints of the the grape soda he had over dinner and the softness of his lips makes them delectable. I hear a quiet moan and Mark immediately runs a hand into my hair and around my back to deepen our connection. He teases my mouth so my tongue meets his, drowning me in an amazing kiss. Thrilled that he is finally kissing me back, I wrap my arms around him.

His lips and the way he holds makes me feel like I am floating in midair and I don’t want to come back down to Earth. All I can hear over the blood rushing to my ears is our shallow breathing while his tongue slowly strokes mine and our mouths restlessly brush against each other.

We eventually break away from the kiss and Mark quietly pants, cupping my face in his hands while pressing his forehead against mine. I mirror his shallow breathing and as I slowly open my eyes, I see him smiling at me. I glide my hands down his strong forearms and his thumbs idly stroke my cheekbones.

“Was that okay?” I ask, shyly.

“More than okay. If I knew you were such a great kisser, I would have done it when we went out for pie,” he practically purrs.

I quietly chuckle and he kisses my forehead before breaking away from me.

“Well, goodnight,” I say, turning towards my front door but Mark keeps a grip of my hand, causing me to turn to look at him.

“What is it?” I ask.

Taking a deep breath, his expression becomes serious and it begins to worry me.

“I don’t have a date for the prom next week. Would you go with me, Beth?” he asks endearingly, his eyes wide with nerves.

Still not over the dreamy kiss we just shared, I double-blink at him. He is asking me to the big final social event of the school year - as his date! In all my high school fantasies, this would probably be quite high in the unlikely scale. But it is happening to me, Beth Cheung, right now.

“I’d love to,” I blush.

Exhaling sharply, Mark grins and grabs me by the waist to pick me up to twirl me around. Caught up in his joy, I giggle before he captures my lips again, kissing me more ardently than before. I feel him pin me against the wall, so his touch and taste on my mouth intoxicates my senses and I find myself getting turned on from the sheer nearness of him.

We make out on the porch until my mom knocks on the window ten minutes later.

********

The following Saturday is the night of the prom and I am nervous. I manage to get the dress I had my eye on since the prom was announced and as soon as I have it on, I can’t stop myself twirling in front of the mirror. It is a floor-length, emerald green, halterneck dress that clings to my curves.

My mom styles my hair so that it is piled and pinned on top of my head in long, luscious curls and my older sister does my make-up, while lecturing me about the perils of succumbing to peer pressure about losing my virginity after the prom.

Since Mark asked me, I haven’t stopped thinking of whether we would do it, or more importantly, if he wanted to do it with me. I haven’t told him I am a virgin, but over-worrying about it only stresses me out so I assure my sister that I am just going to enjoy the evening and see what happens.

Soon, my eyes are lined with kohl and my lips are raspberry red. I am just putting on my strappy shoes when there is a knock on the front door. Excitedly, I open it and my face drops.

It’s Ben, fully dressed in a tuxedo.

“Jesus Beth, you look hot!” he says as a greeting. He is behaving like the big scene in the cafeteria didn’t happen. I am in no mood to be messed around, not tonight.

“What are you doing here?” I growl, getting my phone and sending a quick text to Mark. Ben raises his eyebrows at my hostile tone.

“I’m picking you up for the prom?” he replies, questioningly.

"What happened to Cassandra?” I ask, closing the front door.

"She dumped me yesterday and seeing as you're going stag, we might as well go together, " he says nonchalantly.

What an asshole, he is treating me like a consolation prize. He hasn't even expressed his guilt or regret over his actions so I stick to my anger rather than cave in to the scraps of loyalty I have left for him.

“Like hell I’m going with you. You humiliate me at school and come here without even apologising, expecting me to go to prom with you? You’ve got some nerve. Besides, I have a date,” I firmly say, putting the phone in my bag.

“Yeah, right. C’mon Beth, quit fooling around,” he coaxes me to take his arm but I don’t. Frustrated, he grabs my arm.

“What are you doing?” I gasp, not wanting to alert my mom and sister. I am about to tell him who I am going with when a car parks up. After a few moments, I am relieved when Mark comes out, putting his phone in his jacket.

“Hi Beth, I got your text. Sorry I’m late,” he says, his face hardens as he sees Ben gripping my arm.

“Hi Mark, actually you’re right on time,” I truthfully smile, admiring how handsome he looks in his own tux.

“Are you alright?” his tone becomes quiet, almost simmering with anger.

“Better now that you’re here," I say as I quickly glance at Ben, who has a look of realisation on his face.

“You’re going with Taylor?” he says with disgust.

“Yes, I told you I have a date,” I look him in square in the eye.

“But I thought…” he starts but this time, I interrupt him.

“Well, you thought wrong. Please let go of my arm,” I murmur. He hesitates and I see the look of someone broken inside. For a moment, I see a glimpse of my best friend, the guy who has been my confidant for years, but then he starts to move and his grip tightens so much, I cry out in pain.

“Get off her!” Mark growls, quickly moving to push Ben away. Recoiling from the force, Ben is knocked down to the grass, letting go of me at the same time. As soon as I am free, I rub my arm and Mark is immediately at my side.

“Beth, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good,” I murmur, watching Ben crawl up onto his knees and feet.

Mark takes a step towards him, but I stop him, pressing my hand firmly on his chest. I face Ben, who looks as if he has swallowed something bitter. I feel his resentment and anger from his expression alone, but I stay firm to my own emotions.

“You were the one that destroyed this friendship, Ben. If you had said sorry or behaved differently, we could have still been friends, but you ruined things between us,” I say, shakily.

"As far as I am concerned, we have nothing more to say to each other. Have a nice night."

Ben looks as if he is about to say something but Mark moves so he is in between us.

“I think you had better leave,” he says firmly. Ben gives us both a look and leaves without a second glance. Part of me is relieved that he is gone, but another part is saddened by the loss of my best friend.

I had spend years confiding in him, spending time with him, creating this amazing bond that I thought was irreplaceable but his callous attitude opens my eyes to his true nature, crushing me in how much time I had spent with him in the hope he would be my first love.

I don’t realise I am trembling until Mark envelopes me in his warm, comforting arms.

“Hey, are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m just a little shaken,” I whisper.

“If you’re not up to it, we don’t have to go,” he murmurs in my hair, but I shake my head, pulling away from him.

“No, I’m not going to let him ruin tonight,” I say, determined. I then realise he is staring at me like he has never seen me before.

“What?” I ask, feeling slightly self-conscious. I feel his gaze travel from my face to my neck down to my pink-coloured toes and back up again, making me aware of how daring my dress is. But judging from his sultry expression, he looks like he is undressing me with his eyes.

“You look perfect, Beth. So beautiful. I can’t wait to show you off,” he murmurs.

“Aw, thank you,” I blush, shyly.

*************************

The prom is being held in a posh hotel by the marina and everyone looks amazing.

As Mark and I stroll into the hall hand-in-hand, people stop and stare at us. Whether they are staring at me or him, I’m not sure, but whenever I look at Mark, he is looking at me like I am the prettiest girl at the prom.

When we finish dinner, the disco starts and the two of us separate to mingle with our friends. I am still talking to them when a slow song comes on. As I stop to see if I recognise the song, a gentle hand strokes my arm.

“Want to dance?” Mark asks, offering his hand.

“Would love to,” I grin, taking it and allowing him to guide me onto the dancefloor. As I give a little wave to my friends, they give me a look full of uncontainable delight.

When we reach the crowd, Mark immediately takes me in his arms and we start swaying comfortably to the beat. I melt in the smell of his cologne and his strong arms holding me. His hands rest idly around my waist and as he pulls me closer to him, I can’t stop my head from resting on his chest. I soon feel his heartbeat quickening by my ear, his fingertips by the edge of my dress so he is just touching my bare skin.

Closing my eyes, I lose myself in him and how it feels like it is just us, but soon, the song stops and Mark pulls away from me. He gives me an intense look, but from how his green eyes have darkened, something tells me not to be afraid.

“What is it?” I ask.

Biting his lip, he takes my hand and without a word, he leads me onto the deserted balcony outside of the hotel. It overlooks the marina that is illuminated by the clear moonlit sky. We lean on the railing, facing each other. He begins to look nervous and starts fiddling with his bow tie, untying it before undoing the top button. The sight of him slightly dishevelled makes my mouth dry and I swallow loudly.

“I thought I would be cooler than this, but here goes,” he says, taking my hand. His thumb idly stroking my knuckles, he tilts my chin to direct my gaze at him.

“I really like you, Beth. I have done for a while. I always thought you and Morris were together, but when I heard you and he were only friends, I took a chance and asked you out.

“The last few weeks have been amazing and tonight, I want to give you a night to remember... if you will let me. But if you aren’t ready, I totally understand.”

Stunned, I can only stand there trying to process his words. Impulsively, I quickly snatch a glass of champagne from a passing waiter and take a large gulp. The bubbles quickly go up my nose and I am coughing up alcohol as I catch my breath.

"Are you okay?" he asks, immediately patting my back.

"Yes, I'm fine, " I gasp.

“God, I’m sorry Beth. I shouldn’t have said anything,” he starts.

I catch his hand and hold it in mine.

“No, it just took me by surprise,” I murmur.

“Would you think of me differently if I said no?” I hesitantly whisper.

“Oh, Beth, no,” Mark says, pulling me closer and wraps himself around me so he can carefully bury a hand and his nose into my hair, so it looks like we are having a private moment.

“You deserve to be treated like a goddess, Beth, and I know I can rise to the challenge,” he purrs in such a decadent tone, it makes my toes curl.

I break away to look at his face, which is now smouldering. My earlier angst about succumbing to peer pressure flies out of the window as I realise that this feels right. I am not scared, nervous or worried; instead, part of me wants to fall into Mark’s arms and let him take care of me.

I gently take his chin and deeply kiss him, sucking on his bottom lip. Before he can intensify the kiss, I slightly pull away and rub my nose against his.

“Let’s get out of here,” I breathe. Mark’s nervous expression quickly softens so a gentle smile crosses his face.

“Okay,” he whispers.

************

Picking up a key from the reception, Mark leads me into an elevator. As soon as the doors close, I push him to the wall and captures his lips with mine. After a shocked moment, he quickly returns my kiss, holding me close as our tongues meet each other with fervour.

“God, Beth, what are you doing to me?” he murmurs.

“What I’ve wanted to do all night. You shouldn’t have undone your tie, you looked seriously hot like that,” I purr with a smile.

Groaning, he recaptures my lips as his fingers catch my curls. Two of them escape their pins and I feel his fingertips caress the nape of my neck down the bare skin on my back.

Every brush of his lips is another moment of unbearable foreplay. He quickly turns to pin me against the wall so I feel his hard body next to mine, but the elevator bell dings and the doors open before anything else happens. Breathing hard, we slowly break apart and exit hand-in-hand.

Mark stops me outside a room down the corridor and after putting in the key card, he pauses before turning the handle. Turning to face me, his fingers brushing the side of my hand.

“You sure you want to do this?” Mark asks.

“Yes,” I smile.

“Then I’m going to cover your eyes,” he moves, shielding my eyes from behind.

“Why?” I ask with intrigue.

“It’s a surprise. Don’t worry, you’ll like it,” he breathes into my ear, making me quiver.

As I feel my heart racing, I feel him guide me into the room. I slowly walk in and a strange floral scent hits me. I hear the door closing and the click of a lock. Biting my lip, I shuffle until we are in the middle of the room.

“Okay, here we go,” he murmurs, moving his hands to uncover my eyes.

We are in a white room with cream carpet and a king-size bed is in front of me, adorned with red rose petals. There are candles lit everywhere, even though the bedside lamps are softly lit as well. An armchair sits next to the floor-to-ceiling window, which has grey drapes and a thin sheet of muslin covering it. The whole room looks so romantic, I feel my heart about to burst.

“Wow. Did you do all this?” I ask in awe, nervously shuffling out of my shoes to feel the soft, plush carpet under my feet.

“No, I pulled in a favour with one of the guys in the reception,” he says, taking off his jacket and laying it on the armchair. I watch him gracefully taking off his shoes and socks, before pulling out some condoms out of his jacket and placing them on the bedside table.

“Was me saying yes a foregone conclusion?” I grin.

“Well, if you’d have said no, I’d come back after I taken you home, get pretty drunk and stayed here overnight,” he jokes, pulling me towards him.

“On your own?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.

“I've paid for a night's stay. Besides, I've never slept in a king-size bed before,” he smirks.

“Neither have I,” I giggle, making him smile and rest his forehead on mine.

We just stand there for a minute in each other’s arms, as our expressions become more heated, intense. I gently grasp his face in my hands and bring it closer to mine. Taking a deep breath, Mark captures my lips and wrapping his arms around my waist, he picks me up and we fall on the bed.

Our mouths and tongues fervently caressing each other, our moans fill the room. I feel his warmth under his white cotton shirt. I wrap my leg around him and my dress falls open, baring my skin. Mark gently strokes my thigh, making me groan at his touch and run my fingers into his hair to deepen the kiss. Gasping, he responds by gripping my hip so I feel his erection against me.

“Oh," I breathe, breaking the kiss to catch my breath.

“Do you feel what you do to me, Beth?” he whispers in my ear, kissing and sucking my earlobe.

Nodding, I turn my head to meet his lips, but he shuffles down and pulls me up and off the bed. As we stand in front of each other, I begin unbuttoning his shirt, dotting little kisses down his chest. In turn, he plants gentle kisses on my shoulders as he undoes my halter strap and as soon as it is loose, he unzips the back of my dress, causing the silky material to pool at my feet.

Tilting my chin, he kisses me on my throat as he begins to pull out the pins in my hair, so it eventually unravels around my shoulders in a tumble of black curls. While he is doing this, I undo his pants and belt so they fall by his ankles, which he quickly kicks away.

Stepping back slightly, he takes in the sight of me. I am wearing black lace underwear with ribbons on the side of my panties and the middle of my bra, and the darkness of the fabric stand out against my pale skin, which is now covered in goosebumps.

“You look beautiful, Beth,” he breathes, running his hands down my shoulders and arms.

“I want to see all of you,” I murmur, keeping eye contact as I push away his shirt to feel his warm skin under my fingertips, the garment falling onto the carpet. My hands glide across his strong frame and sculpted arms, my fingertips tickling down his stomach. When they brush against the waistband of his tight black boxers, he suddenly crushes me to him, kissing me passionately.

Lifting me off my feet, he takes me to the side of the bed and draws up the covers, so we settle on the soft mattress with him in between my legs. We lay there, exploring each other with our lips and hands like we have all the time in the world. The longer we kiss and caress each other, my lust steadily grows and the heat from Mark’s body and the urgency of his kisses tell me he feels the same.

He breaks the kiss to trace his lips down my chin and neck, leaving a trail of gentle kisses across my skin. I cherish his light touches, as he kisses and licks my skin. His nose trails down the middle of my breasts and as he reaches the ribbon in the middle, he meets my eyes, as if he is silently asking for my permission.

I nod and he slowly pulls the satin fastening, loosening the cups of my bra. His hands glide them apart and his lips immediately wrap around my breast. I groan loudly, tilting my head back at him worshipping my body. I run a hand into his soft hair as he moves onto the other peak, sucking and nibbling on my skin.

Moving down, he hovers his mouth by my belly. Gently pulling the ribbon on the side of my panties, he runs his tongue across the uncovered skin before slowly kissing my bare flesh. I feel his nose run over the apex of my thighs, an appreciative moan echoing through him.

“Oh God,” I gasp, tilting my head back on the pillow, trembling at his touch. Mark moves back up and pulls me towards him, entangling his fingers in my curls to reclaim my lips. Groaning, his tongue ardently caresses mine, while I run his hands up his muscular back and arms, marvelling in his athletic figure.

“I want you, Beth. So much,” he whispers, stroking my nose with his.

“I want you too, Mark,” I breathe, imploring him to make love to me.

Leaning up slightly, he shifts to remove his boxers and throw them onto the floor. Reaching for one of the condoms, he swiftly unwraps and rolls one on him. Moving so he is face-to-face with me, he supports himself on his elbow, dotting little kisses around my face and under my ear while his free hand reaches for the other side of my panties. His eyes never leaving mine, he pulls the other ribbon bow so my panties fall apart from my body. As soon as he throws them on the floor, his hand moves to my clit, lightly rubbing it with his fingertips.

I groan, trying to keep control of the feelings and sensations he is evoking with his simple touch. Feeling from the hardness by my thigh, I am relishing his desire for me.

“Please, Mark. I am ready,” I breathe.

Pulling away slightly, he brushes the hair from my eyes and begins to push himself inside me. I bite my lip from the sudden intrusion within me and as he continues to move until he is hilt-deep within me, I can hear myself panting.

“You’re so tight. Are you okay?” he gasps. I nod, running my hands up his back.

“If you want me to stop, promise me you’ll say so,” he murmurs, pressing his forehead on mine.

“Okay,” I whisper. With that, Mark slowly moves out of me, causing me to wince. He begins to move in and out of me, and the initial soreness becomes more sensual, more arousing.

Mark nuzzles me by my ear, nibbling my earlobe so I hear his quiet, deep breaths. His thrusts are measured and restrained, like he doesn’t want to break me. Every time he moves, I feel so much closer to him and I can’t stop myself wrapping my arms and legs around him. He moans at the feel of my body around him and embraces me closely.

“You feel amazing, Beth,” he purrs, thrusting gently.

“You do too. Please move faster, it’s okay,” I moan.

As soon as the words escape from my mouth, he catches my mouth in a deep kiss and begins to move harder and quicker. My moans grow louder with each thrust, as does Mark’s. His tongue licking and tracing around the sides of my mouth, his arms tensing with each deep thrust. One of his hands trails down my body, now moist with sweat. His talented fingers glide down the side of my breast, over my hardened nipple before grasping my thigh to bury himself further inside me, causing us to moan loudly.

“God, Beth,” he breathes, sinking his face into my neck as he thrusts deeply within me.

“Please, don’t stop,” I groan, my hips eagerly meet him.

“I won’t. I want you,” he moans, his words and need for me intoxicates my senses.

I feel myself getting warmer, my legs begin to cramp and I breathlessly try to keep hold of my sanity. My emotions are starting to spill over me as my release gets nearer and nearer. Mark clenches his eyes closed, entangling our fingers together as he presses his lips against mine. Holding our hands by my head, his groans reverberate in our kiss as he moves deeper inside me.

“Mark, I’m…” I whisper desperately, as the sensations finally take over me, my orgasm rampaging through me. Burying my face into the crook of his neck, I groan as I shake uncontrollably, the blood is rushing throughout my body with tears leaking from my eyes.

“Oh, Beth,” he groans as he comes inside me. Folding me in his arms, he envelops me in his arms as his body stills and stiffens against me, prolonging his intense release. The deep groan from his throat and how closely he holds me overwhelm me, making me wonder how I have such an effect on a guy like Mark.

Leaning up, Mark gently kisses my swollen lips before pulling out of me. Without a word, he wraps me in his arms and spoons behind me. He nuzzles my neck while I quickly drift in a sea of sex and candlelight.

The next morning, I am woken up by the morning sun seeping through the muslin. It looks like a beautiful day and the seagulls are cawing audibly. I stretch slightly and turn to see Mark sound asleep, his arm draped over my side.

Turning myself around, I lie on my front and vaguely admire his face. His hair is messy after my hands ran through it, his lips swollen, his athletic body and his honey-brown skin...seeing him still here makes me smile. I reach out to run my fingers over his cheek, but at the same moment, he stirs.

Pulling my arm back, I quickly tuck it under the side of my body and close my eyes so it looks like I’m asleep. Breathing quietly, I lay waiting to see what happens. I wonder if he leaves me without a word or wakes me up. The tension is killing me but I manage to remain quiet and still.

I mentally prepare myself and try to quieten my trembling breath, but I soon feel his lips press against my shoulder and a hand run slowly down my back, causing me to exhale loudly.

“I know you’re not asleep, beautiful,” he whispers in my ear.

Opening one eye, I see him smiling down on me. He lightly brushes the hair from my face before moving to dot kisses on my back. Purring, I turn in his arms to face him and he moves so he is on top of me, resting on his elbows.

“Morning Beth,” he murmurs.

“Good morning. How did you sleep?” I ask, running my hands up his back.

“Really well. You okay?” he murmurs.

“A little tender, but okay. Thank you,” I breathe, kissing him on his lips.

“No, thank you,” he purrs, responding immediately to my kiss, so our heads sink into the deep pillows as he sucks my bottom lip. Groaning, he lowers himself down until he is pressing me into the bed.

“I am crazy about you,” he whispers next to my lips.

“Me too,” I murmur, looping my arms around him. His lips move to my throat, my voice quivers at his touch. The feeling of him nestling in between my legs and his warm, smooth skin next to mine begins to stir me.

“When do we have to check-out?” I breathe.

“Midday. What time is it now?” he murmurs, his tongue tickling the dip in my collarbone. Trying to keep a hold of my brain cells, I peer at the bedside clock.

“It’s 9am,” I say with a smile.

He raises his head, moving until he is face-to-face with me, with a huge smile.

“Would you like to call room service? We can have breakfast in bed, I haven’t done that before either,” he asks, raising an eyebrow while stroking his nose with mine.

“I was actually wondering if we could use another one of those condoms you brought,” I purr, gently biting his lower lip.

“Hmm, you read my mind,” he whispers with a smile.