He slid his hand over hers, stilling it before she could pour another shot – her fourth, by his calculations. “You don’t need another drink,” he told her softly. “And definitely not because of what you just told me. You’re right, you know. ADHD is absolutely not a big deal, and never anything to be ashamed of. And you certainly seemed to have learned how to cope with it. You’re at UCLA, and I know their film program is one of the toughest in the world to get into. Plus, I’ve only known you for a few days, sweetheart, but I already know you’re the smartest, bravest, and toughest person I’ve ever met. Not to mention,” he murmured, scooping her onto his lap, “the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.”

Lauren snickered, wrapping her arms around his neck and snuggling in close. “You forgot sexy. And funny. And definitely,” she added, her tongue circling his ear teasingly, “the best fuck you’ve ever had.”

He kissed her gently, his tongue exploring her mouth with slow, thorough licks. “You’re way, way more to me than just a casual fuck,” he whispered. “And you know it. What we’ve had – there’s nothing casual or cheap about it. You’re the most remarkable woman I’ve ever known, Lauren – in and out of bed.”

She smiled then, wriggling her tempting little ass against his rapidly hardening cock. “Well, duh. But, you know, I’ve had to work very hard at being amazing, and it’s always been a struggle.”

He stroked her tumbled curls comfortingly. “How old were you when you were diagnosed?”

“Five. But I’d imagine it was pretty apparent well before then to everyone around me. I was the ultimate wild child – climbing trees, jumping on the furniture, always getting into mischief. I’m sure I drove my parents crazy – especially since Julia was a little angel. She’d be having tea parties with her dolls and teddy bears, or looking at a picture book, while I’d be outside digging up worms or wrestling with one of the dogs.”

Ben frowned. “Your parents didn’t – that is, I hope they never expected you to be more like your sister, or tried to compare the two of you negatively.”

She shook her head firmly. “God, no! I’ve got the absolute best parents in the whole world – the best sister, too. None of them ever made me feel less worthy than Julia, or that I was damaged or inferior in any way. No, I managed to do those things all by myself.”

“Lauren – ” he began to admonish.

But she ignored his protest and continued to speak. “I always felt like I was disappointing my parents, letting them down. Everything came so damned easy for my sister, while I had to work three times as hard. That was why I always insisted we dress differently, had separate interests. I didn’t want people comparing me to Julia unfavorably more than they already did. After a while, I got real tired of hearing teachers grouse about how different we were, that it was hard to believe we were twins.”

“Did your parents – did you take medication?”

“No.” The denial was firmly issued. “God bless my mother because she set her foot down with every doctor and therapist and teacher we encountered. She flat out refused to shove Ritalin or Adderall down my throat, swore that she’d home school me before that ever happened. Instead, she and my dad did all the research, talked to a bunch of experts, and found alternative therapies.”

“Like martial arts, for example?”

“Yes. And it was a lifeline for me, Ben. My first teacher – the one I got the tattoo in honor of – he intimidated the hell out of me. Yamashiro Sensei was probably only an inch or two taller than I am now, and not a whole lot heavier. But it would usually just take one look from him, and I’d be like a little soldier in his presence. Martial arts helped a lot with the ADHD, as did sports and then photography. My Uncle Mal would drag me along with him on these day long hikes through the Ventana Wilderness or Point Lobos and teach me how to take the perfect shot, to learn patience. There were other therapies, too, more traditional, and I eventually learned how to keep it in check. But it’s a constant struggle, especially at college, and I will be the happiest person in the world when I don’t have to take another exam or write another paper ever again.”

Ben’s arms tightened about her fiercely, deeply touched by what she’d just shared with him, how she had trusted him enough to confess her secrets, and especially how she’d allowed him to glimpse her vulnerability. “You don’t have to ace exams or write twenty page term papers to be considered brilliant, you know,” he assured her. “From the first second I saw you, Lauren, I’ve been dazzled by you. And your ADHD is just part of who you are. Besides,” he added wickedly, his hand caressing the bare skin of her upper back, “I’d much rather dig for worms and climb trees than attend a tea party. Especially one where the guest list includes stuffed toys.”

It was exactly the right thing to say to her, as evidenced by the way she laughed joyously and gave him a loud, smacking kiss – a kiss that very quickly became seeking, hungry, then frantic.

He groaned as his hand slid up beneath the halter top to encounter a warm, bare breast. “Do you, ah, own any bras?” he rasped, his finger tweaking her nipple until she was squirming in arousal.

“Dozens,” she murmured, as her hands untied the halter top and tossed it onto the deck. She gasped as he squeezed her full, swollen breast roughly. “Doesn’t mean – ahh, that’s good! – that I like to wear them.”

“Christ.” He bent his head and licked a slow, arousing circle around one pale pink nipple. “You must drive the guys at college crazy, strutting around campus with these tits bouncing up and down all day. It would be worth going back to school just so I could see you walk by every day. And you can bet,” he growled in her ear, his hand slipping inside the low waistband of her white terry shorts, “that I’d be doing my damnedest to get inside your pants on a regular basis.”

Lauren moaned as his fingers brushed aside the flimsy fabric of her white silk thong and then slid inside of her body. “You, ah, wouldn’t have to do very much,” she told him raggedly. “In fact, for you, Blue Eyes, I’d walk around without pants on. Or any other articles of clothing, for that matter.”

“Good to know,” he muttered harshly. “And no time like the present.”

With one decisive motion, he stripped the shorts and thong from her body, and then pulled her into place until she was straddling his lap. His dick was pushing insistently against his zipper, begging to be set free and then confined again – this time inside her snug little cunt.

She squirmed impatiently on his lap, trying her best to alternately tug his T-shirt off or attack his zipper. But he was determined this time to take total control of things, to slow it down and savor the experience, to seduce her – though he honestly wasn’t sure if the latter was a real possibility or simply a wild fantasy.

“Easy, sweetheart,” he soothed, capturing her hands in his and drawing them to his lips. “It doesn’t have to be a race, you know. Let me enjoy having a hot, naked babe on my lap for a few minutes, hmm? Just for this one time,” he cajoled persuasively, “let yourself surrender.”

“Ben – no, I - ”

But the protest stuck in her throat as he kissed her slowly, with long, sensuous swoops of his tongue. One of his hands slid to the back of her head, holding it still, while the other roved freely over her body – cupping her breast, squeezing her ass, brushing tantalizingly over her clit before finally sliding two fingers back inside of her, where she was slick and hot, and he could smell how aroused he was. He was torn between jerking down his zipper and shoving his cock inside that tight, creamy cunt, or laying her down on the narrow rattan settee and licking her up like the most decadent dessert ever created.

But when Lauren howled in protest as he began to ease his fingers away, he kept them in place, pumping them in and out of her with rapid movements until he felt her pelvic walls begin to spasm and she cried out in release.