A Season of Firsts

When Cara got out of the shower, she found Jamie still asleep, on his stomach, sheets tangled partially underneath him. He had been so high on victory last night that he wanted to go for hours, but he'd crashed so hard after, he'd fallen asleep uncustomarily naked. She took a quiet moment to admire his half-exposed body, from one long leg up to his sweet sleeping face. He really was beautiful. As much as she didn’t want to wake him, just wanted to sit and watch him sleep, she also really wanted to touch him. And he had slept enough. She could wake him gently. She kneeled down next to the bed and softly kissed his temple.

“Good morning, sunshine,” she whispered. “Happy Valentine's Day.”

The corner of his mouth turned up slightly, but he didn’t open his eyes. She kissed his cheek. Still nothing. His neck — nothing. Shoulder — nothing. Ok then. She dropped her towel on the floor, climbed onto the bed, and pulled the sheet the rest of the way off, then straddled his legs and began kissing her way across his back. Jamie moaned softly but still didn’t open his eyes. So Cara ran her tongue up the length of his spine. His hand gripped the pillow, but he stayed otherwise still. She singsonged, “Jaaaamieeee, time to get uuuup,” and got another moan in return. He was just messing with her now, she decided. Fine.

She kissed her way back down his spine to her favorite part of his body — that lovely, large, muscular tush. God bless hockey. She traced the curve of it with her hands, then kissed it softly — one cheek, then the other. Jamie let out the ghost of a giggle. He found her obsession with his butt amusing and couldn’t help laughing any time she let it show. Suddenly, she couldn’t help herself. She picked a nice plump piece of his ass cheek and bit down hard enough to leave a mark, then sucked a wicked hickey on it. Jamie yelped a little, then bit down on the pillow and moaned into it. When Cara finished marking him, she crawled back up to lay on his back and plant a sweet kiss on his scruffy jaw.

“Well that was an interesting wake-up call,” he laughed. “Happy Valentine's Day to you too.”

“Hey, I tried the sweet way first.”

“Mhmm. I know. I was enjoying the kisses. I didn’t know you were going to bite me.”

“I didn’t either,” she giggled. “But you know how I feel about your ass. And it was just taunting me, all naked and beautiful like that. I couldn’t help myself. Besides, now if any other girl gets in your pants, she’ll know that’s my ass.”

“Oh really? You were just marking your territory, huh? Well now you have to deal with the consequences!”

Jamie twisted around under her and thrust his hips up into hers. He was hard well beyond morning wood. Consequences, indeed.

“Oh, so you liked it!” she giggled.

“Maybe. Maybe I just like your mouth all over me. And maybe you being territorial is hot.” He grabbed her by the back of the neck and pulled her into a rough kiss.

It didn't take long before she pushed away from the kiss and sat back, taking control and sinking down onto him with a smirk. Christ, she knew what that did to him. He held onto her hips as she rolled them, letting her set the pace and the angle. Everything that worked for her worked for him, so he just went along for the ride. They locked eyes and barely blinked until they came within seconds of each other and Cara fell forward onto his chest, biting into his shoulder, leaving another mark as she rode out her orgasm.

“You can wake me up like that anytime you want,” he said, running his hands down her back.

Cara giggled into his skin. “Careful what you wish for. I might.”

“I mean it. Fuck. The bruises are worth it.” Squeezing her ass with both hands, he bucked up into her.

Still hypersensitive, she let out a breathy moan. Jamie moved his hips just to hear her do it again, which she did.

“What are you trying to —” her breath hitched when he moved again “— do to me?”

“Get you to make that sound again. Keep doing that and I’ll be good for round two in a minute,” he growled, using his hands to rock her hips forward.

“You,” she whimpered as he did it again, harder, “are a fiend.” She lifted herself up slightly to look him in the eyes.

“I can’t help it.” Taking advantage of the small space now between them, he cupped one breast in his large hand and teased her nipple. “You’re fucking hot and I want you.” His other hand went to her clit, barely touching with the pad of one finger.

Cara threw her head back, arching her spine and pressing into the hand on her breast. “Fuck, Jamie,” she panted, “you’re going to make me come again before you even pull out.”

Every breathless sound she made went straight to his cock. He reached up to kiss her neck, just below her ear, earning a high-pitched moan and her hand in his hair, holding his mouth against her skin. When she came, the sounds she made and her pulsing around him had his cock most of the way to hard again. He rolled them over so he was doing the work, slowly moving his hips, hitting every already-on-edge nerve ending inside her. He took his time, not letting her come down completely while also building himself back up. She dug her nails into his back, marking him again — the guys were going to have a field day chirping him, but at the moment, he couldn’t care less. He kept the slow, steady rhythm until right before he came with two short thrusts and one balls-deep, Cara’s squeak smothered in his drawn-out, moaning kiss.

Finally sated, he rolled to the side and pulled her against him, throwing one leg over her. He kissed her thoroughly before collapsing onto the pillow, running a hand through her hair and cupping her face, suddenly tender and gentle.

“Hi,” he said softly.

Cara chuckled, tracing his jawline with one finger. “Hi.”

“Do we have to get out of bed? I just wanna snuggle with you. Maybe all day.”

“You're gonna need food eventually.”

“Fine. But not now. Snuggle now?”

“Ok,” she giggled. “Snuggle now.”

Next thing Cara knew, there was a 200 lb naked baby holding onto her with his head burrowed into her chest. She giggled again and freed one hand to stroke his hair. In about 14 seconds, he was asleep again, his breath tickling her bare skin. There was no escaping — he had her trapped, arms and legs wrapped around her like tentacles. Not that she wanted to escape — he was warm and adorable. She took the opportunity to watch him sleep this time, kissing the top of his head and playing with his hair, until her eyes drifted closed as well.

She woke about an hour later to soft kisses along her collarbone. Jamie's lips drifted upward, across her shoulder to her neck, up to her ear, down her jaw, and finally to her mouth.

“I'm hungry,” he whispered against her lips.

Laughter bubbled up from both of them as they kissed.

“Come on, let's clean up and go find you some food, dork.”

…

Jamie was leaning against the wall, looking at his phone, when Cara opened the door to go to dinner.

“Sorry that took so long. One of my shoes got kicked under the bed and it took me forever to find it … Oh wow, those are gorgeous.”

Jamie looked up and his jaw hit the ground. He stood in breathless silence as she took the roses from his hands. He kissed her cheek on autopilot, too stunned to move.

“I'm gonna put these in water and then we can go, ok?” she called over her shoulder.

When she emerged from the kitchen, she ran right into Jamie's very solid chest. He ran his hands down the red silk on her sides and rested them on her hips before he pressed her against the wall and attacked her neck with his lips. Cara gasped but then giggled.

“So you like the dress?” she laughed, twining her fingers at the base of his skull.

“You look … fuck … I mean …” he panted as he kissed down her throat to her chest. “You're beautiful. Gorgeous. So fucking hot.”

“Well thank you.” She pushed him back to look him in the eyes. “But you don't get to take it off just yet.”

Jamie whined. “But …”

“Nope. Dinner first. Then you can take me home and see what's under this dress.”

He made a last-ditch effort, kissing her neck just below her ear, tongue and teeth teasing her skin. “Please, Baby?”

Cara inhaled sharply — he knew what he did to her — but stood firm. “Nope. This is not lingerie. It's a dress. You'll have to wait.”

“You're mean,” he pouted. “But if you insist.” With a grin and one last kiss on her neck, he tucked her hand into his arm and escorted her out to the car.

…

In an adjacent room, a DJ played sappy love songs while couples twirled around the dance floor. The music was loud enough to hear but not so loud that they couldn't carry on a quiet conversation over dinner. The atmosphere was actually lovely and romantic, if a little cliché.

After they ordered, Jamie noticed Cara glancing over his shoulder at the couples dancing.

“Wanna dance while we wait for our food?” he asked.

Smiling, she nodded. Jamie stood, offered her his hand, and led her to the dance floor.

One hand softly holding hers, the other on her waist, he warned, “I'm not much of a dancer, but I can probably avoid your toes.”

“That's ok, I'm not terribly good either,” Cara giggled as she put her free hand on his shoulder. “But it's fun anyway.”

They stayed out of the other dancers’ way, swaying slowly, eyes locked on one another. The music changed, and as the lyrics started, Jamie smiled and pulled her closer, close enough to kiss her forehead before meeting her eyes again.

She gave him a questioning look, but he only smiled wider and nodded at the DJ. She cocked her head and scrunched up her nose, listening to the song, but it didn't take long for her to place it, especially with Jamie softly — barely audibly — singing the words to her. “... but I can't help falling in love with you.” He brought his hand up to touch her cheek, and his eyes bored holes into hers, setting off a swarm of butterflies in her stomach. She moved her hand from his shoulder to the back of his neck, holding on tightly in case her knees buckled from the intensity in those big brown eyes.

“I love you so much, Cara,” he whispered.

Blinking away tears, she beamed at him. “I love you too, Jamie.”

He let out the breath he'd been holding and pulled her to his chest, still swaying to the music, but closing his eyes and burying his face in her hair. She pressed her cheek into his shoulder and closed her eyes too, her heart pounding so loudly she was sure he could hear it.

When the song was over, he pressed a sweet kiss to her lips and wordlessly led her back to their table. He pulled out her chair for her and continued to hold her hand after he sat, running his thumb over her knuckles, looking at her again with those intense eyes that made her blush and look down at the table.

She was rescued by their server, coming to pour the wine. When he stepped away, the nervous tension was broken, and Cara gave Jamie a slightly accusatory smirk.

“Did you plan that? The song?”

It was his turn to blush now. “Maybe,” he said sheepishly. “Too corny?”

“Maybe,” she giggled, then shrugged. “But I'm a sucker for a corny romantic, so …” He beamed, still blushing but so pleased with himself.

After a moment of bashful smiles, Jamie leaned his forearms on the table and turned serious again. “I meant it, y’know. I love you, Cara. I know we haven't been together all that long, and I haven't gotten to spend as much time with you as I'd like, but I fall more in love with you every day.”

“Jamie, I can't tell you how many times I've almost told you I love you in the last few weeks. I …” She shook her head, chuckling softly. “I guess I was afraid you'd think I was crazy and run for the hills.”

“I don’t think you’re crazy. Unless I am too.” He shrugged. “Maybe we are, but who cares.”

Cara giggled and lifted her wine glass. “To crazy people.”

“Crazy people,” Jamie laughed, clinking their glasses together.

Holding hands, they sat quietly and sipped their wine until the food arrived a short time later. When they needed their hands to eat, they couldn’t stand not touching, so they tangled their feet together. Content just to be together, they ate without much chatter. The food was delicious, but they barely noticed, too wrapped up in each other’s eyes.

When they were finished, Jamie smiled and asked, “Another dance?” Grinning, Cara nodded and took the hand he offered, following him back to the dance floor.

Picking up in the middle of whatever song was playing (they barely noticed), they melted together, eyes glued to one another, Cara’s fingers stroking the nape of Jamie's neck, his hands splayed on her hips. The music changed, and they continued dancing, not really paying attention to the song, until Cara caught a few people looking at them and smiling.

“I think we have an audience,” she mouthed to Jamie.

He glanced over her shoulder and saw the same thing she had and shrugged. “They probably just think you’re hot.”

She smacked him softly on the chest, giggling. “Stop it. Seriously, if they're staring at anyone, it's you.” Then she caught a snippet of lyrics and blushed. “Oh. Um. I think they’re kind of playing our song.”

Jamie listened, not taking his eyes off her, and sure enough, he caught the chorus:

The lady in red is dancing with me, cheek to cheek,
There’s nobody here, it’s just you and me,
It’s where I want to be,
But I hardly know this beauty by my side,
I’ll never forget the way you look tonight

“Ohh,” he breathed. “Well, it wasn’t me this time, but the song’s right.” He looked over at the DJ, who shrugged and winked. Jamie chuckled softly. “I think our DJ friend picked this one for us. You are beautiful in that dress. Like seriously stunning.” His hands moved from her hips up her sides and around her back, brushing the skin above the fabric with his fingertips, sending a shiver down her spine that made her eyes flutter closed. His eyes traveled down, skimming the leg visible through the slit in her dress, then back up the curves of her hip and breast to her exposed collarbones, and finally back up to her eyes. His voice was husky when he brushed her ear with his lips and asked, “You ready to get out of here?”

“Mhmm,” she hummed in his ear. They managed to wait until the song ended, then walked as casually as possible back to the table — still getting knowing looks from a few other couples — and took care of the check before trying not to sprint to the car.

Jamie did his best to get them back to her house safely but quickly, his hand running up and down her exposed thigh and occasionally being swatted away when it drifted too far up. They barely made it in the door before he was trailing hungry kisses down her neck, pushing the straps of her dress off her shoulders, and she was unbuckling his belt, untucking his shirt. After stumbling and nearly falling while trying to walk backwards, he gave up and threw her, squealing and giggling, over his shoulder and carried her to the bedroom, then picked up where he left off. He blindly undid her zipper as he nipped and kissed at her neck. At the same time, she had his shirt unbuttoned, and he let go of her long enough to peel it off and fling it behind him before he resumed pushing the straps of her dress down her arms. As the silk slid off her body to the floor, he hissed a surprised “fuck,” at finding her completely naked underneath. She took advantage of his momentary immobility to push his pants down and off, and then she was being hoisted onto the bed, a feral Jamie crawling over her, nipping at her skin from her hips up to her neck.

“You drive me crazy,” he moaned as he attacked her mouth.

“Payback’s a bitch, Love. I guess we’re even,” she giggled as he moved back to her neck.

“Payback, huh?” he growled into her skin. He pushed himself off of her with a devilish glint in his eye.

“Yes, you drive me crazy all the time! Oh god. What are you up to?” she laughed nervously.

“Delicious payback,” he grinned. Flipping her over onto her stomach, he kissed and nibbled his way down her back and then, without warning, sank his teeth into her ass and made a copy of her wake-up mark from that morning. Cara shrieked. Then Jamie kissed his way back up her spine, and she shivered, arching her ass up into his abs when he sucked on the back of her neck.

“Fuck, Baby, I want you like this,” he moaned into her skin, pressing his cock between her legs. “Can I?” Pushing up and back into him, she hummed assent, and he sat back so he could lift her up. Running a thumb over the livid bite mark on her ass, he held her hips and pressed inside her slowly, groaning. He pulled back, almost all the way out, then pressed in again, getting a whine from Cara. She pushed back against him, wanting more. He groaned again. “So pushy,” he mock-complained, although it only turned him on more, if that was possible. He pushed her hips forward, pulling out again, then before she could push back, he snapped forward and yanked her back, bottoming out hard. She made his favorite little squeak then, followed by some swearing in what sounded like Spanish. Ok, that was hot. So he did it again, getting the same squeak and swearing, but this time in English.

They went on like that for a few minutes, until he was way too close to coming and had to stop himself. He wanted — no, needed — her to come around him, preferably panting his name. So when he was buried in her again, he leaned forward and wrapped one arm around her, big hand enveloping her breast, as he bit at the back of her neck like an animal. She gasped, and he brought her upright, his other hand going to her clit, earning a high-pitched string of swear words that went straight to his cock.

At this angle, he had to sit back on his heels a bit, but with a few shallow thrusts, he found exactly what he was looking for, and between his mouth on her neck, the pads of his fingers circling her swollen clit, and his cock hitting her g-spot, she came hard, her fingers tugging at his hair.

Curling his arms around her, he bucked up into her a few times and then bit down on her shoulder as he came with a choked out “fuck.” He panted into her skin as she relaxed against his chest and hugged his arms to her. When his heart rate slowed to near normal, he kissed her shoulder over his bite mark and softly flopped them over onto their sides, still holding her close. He pressed soft kisses all over her shoulders and neck, making her sigh contentedly.

“God, I love you,” he murmured between kisses. “So. Damn. Much.”

Cara giggled and reached back to hold her palm to his cheek before twisting around in his arms to face him. “Say it again,” she whispered.

“I love you. I love you. I love you,” he repeated, punctuating each with a kiss on her lips.

“I will never ever ever get tired of hearing that,” she smiled. “I love it, and I love you.”

“Good, because I will never get tired of saying it. I am crazy, stupid in love with you, Cara Ryan. And I hope you’re ready for some really corny romantic shit, because I’m probably gonna make an ass of myself showing you how much.”

“You are my favorite ass, Jamie Benn.” Giggling, she reached down and squeezed his ass, causing some eye rolling followed by head-shaking laughter and sweet, smiling kisses.

Cara's Dress

Notes