“Char, tonight won’t work. We have plans.”

“I’ll come too,” she tells me, trying to push herself onto me and that’s the last thing in the world I’d want.

“No!”

“Why not?”

“Because Jack has a friend coming over and I’m not going to have you ruin his time with him.”

“What’s it gonna take for you to forgive me, Thane?”

“You need help; I’ve been telling you that all along.”

“I got help. Didn’t you hear me the other day when I told you I started counseling?”

“I heard you, Char, but I’ve also heard you say that before. It won’t last, and you and I both know it. Counseling isn’t enough. I need to see evidence that you’ve changed, I need to see you stop blowing money like it grows on trees. Jack needs to come first, not shopping.”

“Okay, I’ll prove it to you then. He’s my life, Thane.”

“Good, because he should be.”

“Since I can’t see him today, can he come over here tomorrow? I promise we won’t do any shopping; I just want to hang out with him.”

I don’t even know what to say to her. Part of me wants to trust her, but the other part, the part that has been lied to and burned by her so many times, the part that almost had to file bankruptcy because of the insane debt she racked up, that part knows she can feed me all the bullshit she wants. But I know the truth and how that need lives deep inside of her. It’ll only take one small thing for her to slip up.

“You can even take my car keys if you don’t believe me.”

“I don’t need to do that. I’ll bring him over in the afternoon, around one.”

“Thank you,” she says, and we both hang up.

“Daddy? Do you copy?” Jack asks me through the new walkie-talkies that he found for him and Braxley.

“Ten-four, little buddy, loud and clear.”

“These are so cool—Braxley is gonna love them.” He walks into the kitchen still talking to me through the radio. I totally forgot a client had given them to me, and Jack found them in my closet today. “Do you think Braxley can take his home with him?”

“Sure, I don’t see why not. They should work for at least twenty miles.”

“Yes!” he exclaims and goes to look out the front window, to see if Faye and Braxley are here yet.

“What do you think about staying at your mom’s tomorrow night?”

“Okay. Do you have to work?”

“No, she just wants to see you.”

“You aren’t gonna see Braxley without me, are you?”

“No way.” I chuckle, so surprised at how close the two of them have gotten so quickly. They are more than friends—they are like brothers.

“YES! He’s here!” he yells, grabbing the other walkie-talkie and running outside with it to greet them. I follow along, my eyes on Faye as she unloads everything from her trunk.

“Let me help you,” I tell her, walking down the driveway, and she takes my breath away the moment she looks at me.

Her makeup is all done up, and her hair is curled like I’ve never seen before. “What’s wrong?” she asks me. “You’re frozen, like a statue.”

“No…nothing. You…you look amazing.” She gives me a coy smile, then hands me a bag, and I finally lift my tongue off the ground and take the other things from her too.

“Thanks,” she tells me and closes her trunk.

“Of course. Was it hard to find?”

“No, not at all.”

“Good,” I kiss her forehead and then lead her inside. “After you.” Once we enter my home, I can hear the boys talking to each other through the radios, as if they are on a mission from opposite sides of the house

“Are those yours, or did you get them for the boys?” she asks me.

“A client gave them to me a while ago,” I tell her setting all the bags down. “But Jack found them today. I think one of them is coming home with you for Braxley.”

She nods and gazes around my home curiously. I observe her, remembering what we did last night. The way she tasted against my tongue and let me come inside her.

Fuck, the thought alone makes me hard.

“Your house is very nice.”

“What, you thought I lived in a trailer?” I tease her, and she rolls her eyes at me. “You want a tour?”

“Sure.”

Walking up to her, I grab her face first, not able to help myself, and tenderly rub my nose against hers before gently kissing her. Then we hear the boys getting closer and pull away from one another.

Braxley runs by, and I ask her, “What did you tell him?”

“Nothing, he didn’t ask.”

I’m sure she’s right, but I still worry. “I don’t want to confuse him.”

“Thane, he’s happiest when he’s around Jack. Let’s not complicate things in their six-year-old minds.”

“Okay then, I’ll do my damnedest to keep my hands off of you, at least until they are asleep.”

She runs her fingers through her long hair, causing my cock to throb, and then I lead her around my home, even though it’s harder than I thought it would be to not lock her in a room every chance I get. As we finish up our tour, she spots the painting she did on my bedroom wall.

“You hung it up?”

“Of course I did. It’s the last thing I look at before bed, and the first thing I see when I wake up.”

She sits on my bed, and I can’t help myself from closing and locking my door.

What? I tried.

“Just two minutes is all I need,” I tell her, pressing her hard into my mattress before she can respond. She lies beneath me, the same way she did last night, so sexy and willing. With my cock now fully hard, I grind it into her, remembering how tight her pussy is. She kisses me passionately, and as I kiss her back, grinding myself against her again and again, holding both of her hands high above her head, I’d love to fuck her just like this. But I can’t right now—we have to stop.

“Stay the night with me?” I ask her, and she blinks a few times. I kiss her throat, moving down between her breasts, noticing that she doesn’t have her necklace on today, and it makes me want her even more. “Please?” I ask again, practically begging her, and she says to me, “What about the boys?”

“They don’t need to know you’re here.”

God, I hope she’ll stay, but before she can answer, Jack knocks on my door. “Daddy?” he calls out, and I kiss her one last time. Then adjust myself as I open the door.

“What’s up, buddy?”

“Why’s the door locked?”

“Oh, I don’t know, was it locked?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry, what’s up?”

“Is Braxley in here? I can’t find him anywhere.” I glance at Faye who is now standing beside me, and we both begin to panic.

Do not let him be in here.

“I don’t think so. Did you push the call button on the radio to see if you can hear his ringing?”

He shakes his little head, his blue eyes looking at me curiously, and as I press the call button, I hold my breath. But none of us hears a thing. “He’s not in here. Where did you look for him?”

“Everywhere.”

“Keep pressing this and go all around the house. You’ll find him.”

He walks off to locate his friend, and I let out a breath of air that I feel like I’ve been holding since he knocked.

“That was so close,” I tell her.

“Are you sure he’s not in here?

“I don’t think so.” I crouch down and look under my bed as Faye looks in the bathroom. I check my closet as well, and she shrugs her shoulders. Then both boys go running by my room, and I need a fucking drink.