Ben and Mal : Love isn't weak [ SMUT] [COMPLETED]

[1]

Ben and Mal had been ensconced on the couch in his room for at least a couple of hours. They'd started out sharing stories about how they'd grown up. The last thing they'd discussed had been how Mal's mother had taught her that love was weak. And while Mal had taken some huge steps in learning to trust to her love of Ben and her friends at the coronation, she was still coming to terms with that it truly meant. Harsh words that you had heard your entire life took time to fade even if you had defeated your own mother in dragon form. It had taken a long time but they'd finally talked themselves out. After the conversation stopped, they just sat together in the darkness listening to each other breath and enjoying each other's presence. It was very late. They were reaching the point where Mal should probably go back to her room. But she didn't want to. She wasn't ready to face Evie's interrogation on how her date with Ben had gone. Or, even if Evie kept her trap shut, her knowing giggles at the smile Mal knew she couldn't have removed from her face with a trowel weren't something she was ready to face. But if she didn't start moving around at least a little bit, she was going to fall asleep and have to sneak back to her room in the morning. No way was she doing the walk of shame if she hadn't actually had any fun. That was non-negotiable. So, after a moment of reflection, she decided that she was feeling playful. So she leaned over and kissed Ben on the nose. Just the tiniest of kisses. Then she leaned back to see what would happen.

That brief kiss engendered more of a reaction than she had anticipated. Ben's eyes had almost glowed when she was looking at them again. It was like she had opened a new door between them. Ben reached up one hand and ran it along her cheek. It was indescribable. She couldn't help leaning into that touch. And then, when his fingers had reached the edge of her cheek and fallen to rest on her shoulder, she almost cried out. She wasn't sure why. His touch hadn't been intimate the way she'd been expecting. He hadn't touched her chest or anyplace else that she expected naughty hands to try to go. She was almost disappointed because some of those things seemed like they would be a lot of fun. But right now she desperately wanted him to brush his fingers against her cheek again. She sighed softly and tried to put her request for more into the look she gave him. He apparently got the message because he did what she wanted and then moved his fingertips to her neck, slowly trailing them down. She felt every finger tip's touch individually. Each one was like a little lick of fire as it traveled lower and lower to the juncture of her neck and shoulders. She didn't understand how such an innocent touch could be so exciting. His fingers then trailed along her collarbone. Even though his hands didn't go lower, it made her very aware that the tank top under her mesh over shirt was a v neck and plunged very, very low. Somehow, that touch awoke a different combination of vulnerability and desire.

For the first time that she had ever experienced, being vulnerable felt good. It was thrilling to take these first steps into the unknown with someone she trusted so much. This wasn't weakness, at least not the way her mother had described it. But her philosophizing about new found feelings was quickly put to rest when Ben's fingers trailed back up her neck until they reached her chin. He was looking directly into her eyes while he did this. He brushed his fingertips across her lips. She couldn't think. She could only look back at him. There were no barriers between them right now. He pushed his face toward hers and kissed her lightly on the lips. Then he moved his hands to her shoulders and gently pulled her toward him. He wasn't forcing her to move. Quite the opposite, in fact. He was giving her an opportunity to make her own choice. She knew with every fiber of her being that he didn't want her to lean in if she didn't want to lean in.

Mal thought about it. And decided that she did want to. So she moved closer until more of her body was touching him. But she was Mal and not some silly ninny of a schoolgirl. She wasn't just content to lay there. Mal was not passive by nature. So, she needed to even the scales a little bit. These feelings weren't good or right if they were only one sided. So she shifted again until she was balanced securely across his thighs. She stopped looking into his eyes for a moment. She didn't turn away and she didn't exactly close her eyes. She just blinked very, very slowly. That was how she justified it in her mind. She was nervous. She repeated some of the same things that he'd done to her. She touched his cheek and his neck just as he had touched hers. She kept every touch slow. She had figured she'd get at least a small reaction out of him but what she didn't realize was that she would feel as much or possibly more when her fingers gently caressed him. When she moved her finger tips across his collarbone, he shuddered a little. Was he ticklish or…. She found the courage to look back into his eyes. Desire looked back at her clear as a summer night. Nope. He was definitely not ticklish.