Sometime before midnight, Kallie woke up to a knock on the door. She’d spent much of the day contemplating her circumstances and how much she’d become dependent on the man she loved, and how much she just didn’t know about him. Then she would bounce back to the things he’d said and done that counteracted her doubts, making her feel that he loved her. After so much back and forth, she honestly didn’t know what to think anymore.

But that knock scared her senseless.

It made no sense. If it were Sasha, he had a key, he wouldn’t knock. At this hour, it had to be bad news. Was it the police again? There was another knock. No one called to her.

She checked her phone. He hadn’t texted.

Cautiously Kallie crept from the bed, knowing there was no way it was him. She drew the chain lock across the door, so she could keep the door locked but still open it. The last thing she expected to see was the angry, battered face of her ex-fiancé, Jeremy Marwell.

He didn’t try to enter. He hovered in the gap of the door, glaring at her with the eyes of a demon. He had been beaten up, but he hardly looked like someone who’d been in a trauma ward only a short time before.

Kallie backed away from him. “Go away. I’m calling the police.” She started to close the door, but he pushed back, hard. Suddenly the chain snapped. She wondered how he’d had the strength to do that. She scanned all that was in her immediate grasp in case she might have to use it as a weapon. She had nothing, not so much as a knickknack to throw. “What do you want?” she growled, drawing her robe more securely around her. “Sasha isn’t here.”

“I know that.” Jeremy wasn’t doing well. His breath came in short pants. “With any luck, he’s being arrested for putting me in this condition.” He laughed wickedly.

“He didn’t touch you,” she said, shaking her head.

“I know that, and you know that, but after what I told the cops,” he began, and he affected a weak voice that would invoked the sympathy of anyone.

“And you’re telling me this why?” Kallie asked.

“Why?” he reiterated. “Because you can go to the cops and tell them I made this up, but it won’t work.”

As he said this, the man who had been at the Hobbit strolled through the door.

Sean.

“Hello, Kallie,” Sean greeted her, leering at her when he saw her robe held tightly against her body.

Kallie’s apartment was one large room; the giant bed against one wall made it nothing more than a glorified bedroom. Her wonderful idea had suddenly become a stupid one. There was no place except out the window to get out of the apartment. She could zip to bathroom, but that would be a trap. They could pound the door in and she would be history.

The only place she could think of that they couldn’t go would be under the bed. She would get them to crawl after her then she could roll quickly and scurry out the front door. It was worth a try. She knew if she ran, they would run after her.

She darted. She faked to the bathroom and then rolled under the bed. The silly plan worked. She lured them to follow. Sean, the stronger man, climbed under the bed. She deftly scooted out. She was going to ram into Jeremy with her shoulder if she had to and run out the door.

Sean was wedged under the bed. He was furiously cursing as Kallie scrambled to her feet. Jeremy blocked the door. He suddenly looked more challenging than before. She could go into the kitchen area for a knife, but that would draw her path close to him.

It was only a matter of time before Sean broke free and Kallie would be back at square one. The only thing she would have accomplished was to piss them off.

A distant banging turned Jeremy’s head and hers as well. It sounded like someone was pounding on a kettle drum. Then it sounded like small bombs blasting.

It was footfalls of someone running up the outside steps. Someone large, quick, and very intent on reaching a goal in a hurry. In the blink of an eye, Sasha Petrov loomed in the doorway. With the sweep of one fist, he knocked Jeremy off his feet. “Where’s the other guy?” growled Sasha.

“Under the bed,” Kallie managed, cowering into the kitchen area, trying to stay out of the way of the fight.

Now that she knew safety had arrived, she felt safe enough to give in to her fear. She felt herself begin to shake.

Sasha shoved the bed over in a single push. It had no casters, so the move was even more dramatic. Sean yelped as the bed disappeared and he was exposed to view.

The look on Sean’s face as he beheld the force that freed him was almost worth the terror to Kallie. He had stalked her just a minute before, and now he was stalked by someone much larger than he was.

Sasha lifted Sean by his shoulders then dropped him to the floor again.

Again, the man yelped.

Kallie stared at her bad-boy-turned-rescuer. There was something very satisfying about witnessing Sasha avenge her.

“Did you tell the cops you saw me beat up this little runt?” Sasha asked in an eerily tight voice.

“Uh-um—” Sean stuttered.

Sasha placed his foot onto his chest, just enough so the man couldn’t go anywhere.

Jeremy laughed. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Not if you love Kallie.”

Sasha’s turned his gaze on Jeremy. The look on his face was rage in its purest form. This was the stuff that simmered somewhere inside that made a person wonder what would happen if they ever truly got mad. Kallie cringed, not wanting to see this, not really wanting to find out.

“Did you tell Kallie how you’ve been paying me all along to keep me from implicating her to the feds? At first, before he fell in love with you, it was just a little tide me over money among friends. But then he cut me off,” Jeremy stated.

“That’s not the way it was,” Sasha said steadily.

“Yeah, but she has doubt, so I’m going with it.” Jeremy smiled.

“You have the life expectancy of a housefly right now,” Sasha growled.

“Threatening me?” Jeremy was edging around the room. In a minute he’d be at the door.

“You’ve got nothing,” Sasha countered, drawing himself up, very sure of himself.

“I want more money!” Jeremy screamed. “I want it now!”

Kallie blinked. The man had gone crazy.

“Let me up,” Sean pleaded from the floor.

“The cops know that you whaled on Marwell here to set me up,” Sasha said. “I’m just making it easy for them to find you.”

More footsteps pounded up the stairs. The cops who’d appeared at Kallie’s door a couple days before were present once more. “You broke your promise to us, Petrov,” the cop said casually.

“I told you I was going to my girlfriend’s place. These guys just happened to be here,” Sasha replied just as coolly. He stepped off of Sean and let the police take him.

The cops contained the two men in cuffs, poised to lead them out of the apartment. The first cop stopped to talk to Kallie, “Are you okay, ma’am?” he asked her.

“I’m pissed off, but I’m okay.”

“I’ll be back to take a statement,” he said.

“Can it wait?” Sasha asked. “I think we’ve had enough for one night.”

“I would rather get a statement while it’s fresh,” argued the cop, “but okay.”

As soon as the door closed, and Kallie and Sasha were alone together, he spoke. “I haven’t had anything to do with that guy. The first you saw him at the gas station was the first I’ve heard from him since you and I met. I haven’t given him any money at all.”

Kallie didn’t want to talk. She already knew he hadn’t. She just rushed into Sasha’s arms and embraced him. The man was all she wanted in the world. The whole time she’d thought he was playing her—he’d really saved her. She put her face in his neck and just breathed him in.

After a long moment, she took a shaky breath and stared at the mess made by the commotion. The new bed wasn’t broken, but it was tainted. Kallie looked around at the place that was supposed to be a haven for her and Sasha. Maybe she would feel better about it once she had sleep, of which she’d been deprived of again, but right now she felt upset that she’d even bought the stuff.

“What?” he asked sympathetically.

She explained, struggling to put her feelings into words.

“Oh,” he replied, but he smiled.

And just like that, the atmosphere around them changed. They connected via the invisible line that pulled at them both. Maybe it was an addiction that affected them, but the chemistry had been real and had masked what truly had been love all along.

Sasha gathered the bedding from off the floor and easily slid the giant frame back into place. “Like that?” he asked. “Or shall we arrange it completely differently, so that it’s a new start?”

She liked this suggestion. So, he turned the bed. She could still look out the window towards the ocean, but it was on the opposite wall. In fact, now that she really looked at it, she liked this placement much better.

He pulled the bedding up, one piece at a time, and tucked it squarely around the mattress. “I like this,” he said as he lifted a soft cotton blanket and fingered the weave.

It felt like he was just saying this to make her feel better, and she loved him even more for it. Then it dawned on her that they were making the bed while staring at each other. “Why are we making the bed when we’re just going to mess it up?” she asked, tilting her head.

“Because it’s fun. It’s nice to have nice things. To have comfort. Comfort and nice is climbing into a freshly-made bed.”

She tugged the sheet to stop him. “What if they come back?” she asked.

He regarded her. “They could. Not tonight, though. Tonight, they’re in jail. So, it’s the middle of the night. We’re probably keeping the neighbors up,” he said. He sank onto the mattress, walking across it on his knees. He took hold of her waist and encouraged her to join him. “They woke you up, didn’t they?” he consoled, running his palm up and down her body, finding its way under her silk robe.

“Yeah,” she replied, her voice cracking. “I thought it was you. I didn’t hear from you—”

“Shhh,” he soothed. “I got picked up. Jeremy and that asshole made up a story that I jumped him. But the cop caught the thing on tape. I guess Jeremy was banking on the fact that he had an eyewitness. But it’s over and done.”

Kallie felt more than ready for it to be. She was ready to let that chapter of her life go forever. She was in her new bed with her man, and she wanted to make the most of the moment. She pressed her lips to his.

They paused only to shed their clothing.

Sasha took her hand and placed it on his hot, hard length. He slid his fingers beneath her arm, gripping her rib cage. On purpose, he splayed his fingers so the tips of them teasingly grazed her breast, letting his hand slide down to touch the top of her thigh. His face was so close to hers, and yet he stared her down, like an erotic hunter stunning his sweet victim. But Kallie was no victim; she was willing for anything he wanted. She would bare her neck for this man if he were a vampire.

But Sasha needed no coaching. He plunged his searing tongue into her mouth and owned it. He closed his perfect white teeth on her lower lip and tormented it ever so lightly. He swept inside her mouth assertively, tagging all of her with the tip of his tongue as if to mark her forever as his own.

Suddenly, the new bed was just about the most comfortable surface they had ever shared. It was a good thing Kallie was lying down, as she felt her body melt right into the mattress. Her legs would have definitely given out if she were standing.

He could have taken her right then and there, but Sasha prolonged their foreplay to make the moment feel like it would last forever.

Now that she had her man where he belonged, Kallie took control. “Nice sturdy frame,” she said, balancing a hand against the headboard. She bounced up and down on the mattress playfully, testing the give. Then she straddled him. She placed one foot on the floor and took hold of the headboard. Her hair cascaded in graceful falls down the length of her body, onto him. She maneuvered smoothly into position.

He rose with her on him. His hand stroked her firm thigh and teased its soft inside.

She arched her back, withstanding the pleasure, trying her best to maintain a slow pace. She had waited forever for this man, and now she didn’t want their moment to be over.

He reached for her naked breasts. He traced the soft curve of her neck, teasing it mercilessly with a feather-light touch. His warm fingers held the weight of her plump breast. He leaned forward and opened his wet, hot mouth to capture her hardened nipple in his lips.

Kallie cried out. Her plan was to ride him, take him for all she had, but Sasha had other ideas.

Not letting go of her breast, he rolled over until he was above her. He pressed his lips to her ear. His breath tickled as he softly said, “You are so beautiful.”

His hot whispers released shivers throughout her, and her nipples were hard all over again, against his stone hard chest.

His hands cupped the firm curves of her buttocks then he halted. “Kallie?”

“Y-yes,” she stammered.

“I love you,” he said, and pushed upright onto one palm as he corralled her with his other hand. In a single sweet move, his massive rigid cock was inside her. He dropped his body and rolled to the side, so he could completely envelop her. He wrapped his arms and powerful legs around her.

At first, their movements were slow and deliberate. Kallie gazed into his eyes, and he looked so deeply into hers. But all the passion and the impatience built up from the days past, and Kallie went insane. She ravaged him. She raked her fingers through his perfectly mussed hair and clutched his head to hold him still so she could kiss him with all that she had.

Sasha finally had to relent to her loving and let her take over.

She rolled atop him and, as was her previous fantasy, pressed her foot against the comforter and pushed herself up and down.

Sasha was soon begging for mercy. He gripped the sheets of the bed and held on while she rode him into the night.

Kallie felt so empowered. Her soft but taut body bobbed up and down with her furious motion. She bucked and rocked with full abandon.

Sasha’s eyes were tightly closed as he drew deep, powerful breaths through his nostrils like an animal. His moans rose through him like he was wailing, but he was crying out with pure pleasure.

He came out of his erotic trance to lift her hips up and down on him with his powerful hands. It was the perfect combination—the physics were perfectly aligned.

Kallie felt her body shift from the inside out. She knew was going to come.

Sasha could feel her. He knew her so very well. His eyes were open wide now as he had been watching her sexual frenzy. His eyes had a sparkle in them. “Are you going to come for me, baby?” he asked, in that low sensual voice.

His words sent her spinning. The combination of all the senses—feeling, seeing, and hearing—combined deliciously, so powerful, and were about to explode within her, but Kallie couldn’t speak to answer.

That was all Sasha needed to hear. He bucked up, making her bounce. He didn’t let up as her body shuddered from head to toe.

Kallie’s abdomen contracted in blissful waves as her core gripped his length.

Sasha’s move sent him over the edge with her. Her climax caused his and, together, they both cried out loud declarations of ecstasy. Sasha managed to cup the back of her head and pull her lips to his, drawing her down to his mouth. He swallowed her cries. They both moved to the last until they could move no more. They eventually went limp against their brand-new bed, completely spent.

They didn’t move for quite some time, but their fingers lingered on one another’s body. They had been through so much.

Eventually their heads cleared, and they could talk again.

“I’d say this bed has been christened,” he proclaimed. “We’ll have to see how it is to have breakfast in it. Or maybe take-out. I’m starved.”

Kallie loved the idea. “I want to eat something in bed with you right now,” she said, eyeing the fridge, knowing there wasn’t a whole lot to choose from.

He arched a brow at her.

She then realized what she’d just said. “That’s up to you, darling,” she said boldly. “We can burn more calories now or we can burn them later.”

“Decisions, decisions,” he said, licking his lips. “I think we should feed ourselves and then work it off.”

“Deal,” Kallie said, and leaned over to kiss him.