Page 21 of The Dating Prohibition

“Well, a long time ago, I was just a nerdy girl trying to figure things out.”

He nodded. “Last one?”

She raised her glass. “To the people who really see you. To BJ. My knight in shining armor.”

“Well, I don’t know about all that.” He winked at her.

“Yeah, well, I wouldn’t expect you to.” She propped her elbow on the table and rested her head in her hand. Her eyes were

growing heavy, though not with sleep. Her mind wandered to the man sitting across from her and how warm he made her feel.

“Maybe we should get out of here?”

“Yeah, I think you’re right.” He signaled to the server for the bill and once it had been paid they stepped out into the night.

“Don’t you live around here?” she asked.

“Yeah, I’m just up the street.”

“Perfect. Let’s walk a little bit. The air is helping,” she sighed into the night. The cool air tickled her neck.

“You feelin’ all them shots, huh?” BJ’s mouth quirked into a smile.

“Yeah, but listen. Given the events taking place today, that was light work.” She grinned.

“Oh, you go hard now?”

“You’ve never gotten drunk with me before, BJ. I am a good time. Okay?” Are my words slurring? I sound funny. Kendra giggled to herself as she looped her arm through his.

They walked down the street, passing storefronts. A coffee shop. A record store.

A bookstore across the street.

“Have you ever been in there?” She jutted her chin toward the bookstore.

“Yeah, every once in a while I’ll go in there for some new material. It’s Black-owned. The store owner is actually really

cool and she’ll special order things for me if she doesn’t have them in stock.”

“Oh, that’s nice. I should go visit.”

“I could take you there sometime if you want.”

It was a simple offer, but something about it made Kendra’s stomach flutter. “Sure.”

They neared his building, which was a row house converted into a duplex. He had the upper two floors. “Do you want to come

up?”

“Yeah, I kind of need to sit down for a bit, if that’s okay with you.”

“No worries, of course.”

He led her up the stairs, and as they entered his apartment, she gasped, taking in her surroundings. BJ wasn’t quite a minimalist,

but he had a very tidy home. His large sectional couch faced an impossibly large TV screen. Off toward the window was a high-back

chair, accent chair, a humidor fridge, and a wine fridge.

A record player sat atop a hutch and a bookcase partition separated the living room from the kitchen eating area. “Wow, your

place is so nice.”

“You’ve never been here before?” he asked, surprised.

“No, I guess we always saw you, you know, at my parents’ house or at Logan’s. I’ve never been over here.”

“Oh, well, there’s a nice view... from the rooftop.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, it’s a little cold tonight, but maybe some other time?”

“Okay, sure.” She took off her shoes before padding toward the couch.

“Can I get you something?”

“What do you have?”

“Water?” he deadpanned.

“Okay, don’t do that, sir. I’m fine.”

“Fine, what do you want?”

“Bourbon?”

He nodded. “Yeah, that sounds nice. I think I’ll join you.” He poured them each a couple of fingers of Angel’s Envy in old-fashioned

glasses and sat facing her. One arm propped against the back of the couch. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” she sighed. “I’ve been, you know, trying to figure this whole thing out, and I still don’t know what I’m gonna do,

but there’s gotta be a way.”

“Well, I am glad to hear that you’re thinking along those lines now. It was worrying me that you sounded like you were gonna

just walk away from it.”

A warmth built in her chest as he spoke to her. “No, you’re right. I can’t walk away from it. I just—I just...” She looked

at him.

“What?”

“I—” Kendra started again, but she couldn’t find the right words.

“What is it?” he asked gently. He leaned toward her, studying her face.

“I—” she rasped. The proximity to him overwhelmed her, his scent taking over her senses. BJ’s deep brown eyes trapped her and refused to let her go, but truth be told, she would have been a willing prisoner.

“I’m sorry, Ben,” she said finally.

BJ moved closer to her, his elbows resting on his knees, lines pinching between his brows. “What are you sorry for?”

“I... My words aren’t really working in my favor right now.” She steadied her glass in one hand and with the other she

wrapped her fingers around his neck and pulled him to her. “I just have to know,” she whispered.

Their lips pressed together. Gently. His full lips were soft and parted slowly. BJ groaned against her mouth. “Kenny.” His

voice was strangled and barely above a growl.

“ Kenny is for when we are joking around. For this, just call me Kendra.” She whispered before nibbling on his bottom lip.

“Kendra.” He strained. “We—”

“Shhh,” she said. “Let’s pretend for a little while that there aren’t any rules. It’s just you and me right here, right now.”

She took his glass from his hand and set them both on the coffee table before wrapping her arms around his neck, returning

to meet his lips, and kissing him until they were both breathless.

His arms slid around her waist, pulling her even closer to him, the warmth of his body making her cheeks flush. He tugged

at her until she straddled his lap and they deepened their kiss. Their tongues danced, exploring each other, chasing each

other. Stealing Kendra’s senses and inhibitions away.

The sensation of his kiss was so intoxicating that she didn’t want to breathe. She just wanted to continue. She moaned against

his lips as his exceptionally large hands cupped her ass.

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” BJ whispered.

Me too. “Just go with it,” she replied, sliding her fingers into his hair, scratching her nails against his beard.

Slowly, she removed his glasses from his face, folding them and lean ing backward to place them on the coffee table next to their drinks as BJ held her tightly to prevent her from falling.

“Kenny...”

“Kendra,” she corrected.

His hands squeezed her ass in response. “Kendra, are you drunk?” he implored, searching her face.

“Listen, we’ve had a lot to drink, yes, but I know what I’m doing right now.” She looked into his eyes, fixing her gaze on

his, their noses inches apart. “I know what I’m doing, and I know that I want this. I want you, Ben.”

He nodded, a soft smile curving his lips. “Well, then.” He picked her up and carried her toward his bedroom. “Let me give

you the tour,” he murmured against her lips.

Kendra giggled, wrapping her legs around his waist. “Thank you, I was hoping to see more.”

“I’ll make sure you get the full experience.” BJ’s mouth claimed hers as he set her on his bed.

Kendra didn’t pay attention to any of their surroundings––her gaze locked in on the man undressing before her. His eyes were

trained on hers as he slowly unbuttoned his dress shirt. She bit her bottom lip as she watched, blinking up at him when he

placed a finger beneath her chin and tilted it upward until she stood before him.

“That’s mine.” His thumb brushed against her mouth until she released it, wetting her lips before he traced the path her tongue

had taken. “Let me help you.” He reached for the hem of her sweater and pulled it up over her head, keeping her arms trapped

in the sleeves as he nudged her back onto the bed until her head landed on the mattress. He kissed her deeply, hooking his

finger into a cup of her bra, releasing the fullness of her breast, her nipple a tightened bud aching for relief.

Kendra moaned as BJ rolled her nipple between his fingers, his lips trailing kisses down her throat, his hands moving to the buttons on her jeans as his mouth claimed her breast. She arched her back as he licked and sucked, whining when he stopped to pull off her pants.

He stood, admiring her as if she were a work of art.

She watched him with a lustful gaze, her hands still wrapped in her sweater above her head. “Come back,” she beckoned.

“So needy,” he teased, his voice a gravelly whisper that made her squirm, her legs squeezing together. “Something I said?”

He ran his fingertips up the seam of her thighs, nudging them apart with his knees, his knuckles barely grazing the seam of

her panties.

Her breath hitched and she shuddered as he kneaded circles against her core. “Ben,” she whispered. “Please.”

BJ eased the sides of her lacy thong down her hips, removing it to the floor as he knelt before her. Their gazes locked as

he leaned forward, blowing onto her exposed seam.

Kendra’s mouth dropped open, and she started to pull at her sweater to release her hands from the sleeves, but BJ reached

up to stop her, twisting the sweater around her wrists to hold them together.

“Keep them up there. I want uninterrupted access.” His gaze was molten as he kissed her deeply, one of his fingers splitting

her folds. “So wet, Kenny.” He captured her lips with his before she could protest, her body shuddering at the contact as

he dipped a finger into her core and raised it to his mouth to taste. His satisfied smirk darkened as he dropped back to his

knees, his tongue and fingers working her core as if he already knew every contour of her body.

Kendra gasped and moaned, her hips rolling involuntarily as he latched on to her clit, his fingers curving to reach her spot.

Lights flashed behind Kendra’s eyelids as she shouted, cursed, bucked, panted, convulsed.

BJ would give her a short recovery period before pushing her over the edge again, re peating until she screamed his name, her body responding to every touch, his beard glistening from her arousal.

Kendra’s body was limp, her walls continuing to spasm as her chest heaved. Adequate words were just out of reach, so all she

could muster was a string of unintelligible mumblings from her slackened jaw. “What the... wh—”

“You’re okay, Kenny. I’ve got you.” He squeezed her thighs as he stood and began unfastening his belt.

Kendra’s face was partially hidden behind one of her arms, her wrists still together above her head. She squinted an eye open

to watch as Ben’s pants and boxers dropped to the floor, her body buzzing at the sight of his heavy erection. She moaned slightly,

her knees falling open as he reached toward the nightstand and pulled a condom out of the top drawer. As he tore the package,

Kendra hooked one of her legs around his calf, rubbing her smooth skin against his.

He stepped closer as he rolled on the protection, making eye contact with her. His hooded gaze softened as he watched her

face, gripping himself as he leaned forward and planted a kiss on her lips, licking between them until she gave his tongue

access to hers. “Okay?” he whispered against her mouth.

Kendra nodded as he rubbed himself along her slick folds, her hips rising at the contact. She sucked in a breath through her

teeth as he filled her to the brim.

“Fuuuck,” he groaned, the vibrations of his voice stirring beginnings of a fresh orgasm for her. He withdrew slowly, almost

pulling out completely before pushing back in at a painfully slow pace.

Kendra wrapped her legs around his waist, her arms struggling with the sweater as she tried to free herself until he stopped her.

He pressed her hands against the mattress, angling his face into the crook of her neck, taking in her fragrance and sucking on the delicate skin.

She wanted to reach for him, to dig her nails into his hips and guide him into her, setting the tempo.

She whined, lifting herself to meet each thrust, enticing him to quicken the pace.

BJ reached back to pull one of her legs from his waist over his shoulder, his solid frame rippling as he moved, his biceps

twitching with each thrust. His eyes widened as Kendra freed her hand to lick her fingertips seductively, reaching between

them to play with her clit. “Not fair,” he growled. He stroked her cheek, grazing her bottom lip with his thumb until she

took it in her mouth, rolling her tongue around it as he hummed in satisfaction. “Now let me taste.” He jutted his chin toward

her hand, his thumb applying pressure to her sensitive bundle of nerves as he sucked on her fingers before shoving them back

over her head into her sweater.

He drew circles around her clit as he pumped faster. Kendra’s back arched as she cried out, her eyes squeezing shut as she

came apart, her body spasming with each jolt. She opened her eyes slowly, breathing through her mouth as she fixed a hooded

gaze on him. “What?” he asked, kissing the inside of her knee, which rested on his shoulder.

“I want to be on top.” She watched him through her lashes as he released her leg and wrapped an arm under her back, climbing

farther onto the bed before rolling onto his back, her knees landing on either side of him on the mattress. Kendra hummed

as she looked at her arms, her hands still tangled in her sweater as she rested her forearms on either side of his head. “Am

I allowed to have my hands free now, Dr. Stephens?”

BJ pulled her close, her breasts pressing against his chest as her lips found his. “Do you really need your hands?” He smiled

slyly.

“Is that a challenge?” Kendra’s eyes narrowed.

“If that’s what it takes...”