Call me old-school, but I like good old-fashioned film.

I had taken a dozen rolls already and had plenty more in my bag. There was even a digital camera for backup. But I liked the solid snap of a shutter.

Less than two miles outside of one of the largest cities in Texas and the poverty was just astounding. Families had come up from some of the very poorest areas. Maggie was incredible, effortlessly in the center of it all. I kneeled, and from a distance, snapped a shot of her holding a stick-thin child on her lap, as Jackie peered down the child’s throat.

“Joe…”

I looked up. “Dean.”

“You can’t be following her around like this,” he said. “She has work to do… hell, so do you. I’m not saying you guys don’t have plenty to sort out. But just give her some space. She’s been through a hell of a lot in the last few days… mostly because of you… She should have the chance to clear her head.”

“I am working,” I said patiently. “I started a story and I intend to finish it.” I saw Maggie look over, concern showing on her face. “Can we talk…?” I took his arm and we walked out into the heavy, stagnant air.

“She’s the love of my life, Dean. This isn’t just sex or some brief infatuation.” I saw him blanch at the word sex. I went on anyway… “We risked our lives for each other out there,” I jerked my head at the horizon. “Because of the bond between us… the love between us…

Because I need her more than she could ever possibly need me.

I don’t want to lose your friendship over this,” I went on as he watched my face. “I hope you can come to accept this… to accept us. I’ll be right here, for as long as it takes. But I won’t give her up, not for anything.”

“And what about TexStar? Are you willing to give that up, too?” He looked down, and peered back up from under his brows… “Bess would strip you out of your own company for being seen in public with a girl of Maggie’s background… A poor kid with a deadbeat, alcoholic dad.”

“Nobody’s to blame for the past,” I said, sitting down under the thin shade of a mesquite tree. “And not every man is always the man he seems. My own dad taught me that…

But yes, I’m willing to give up anything for her, as long as I can keep her safe. She’s given me her whole heart, and I’ll love her until the day I die. But she gave me something else, too. Something that’s been missing for a long time.”

“What?” Dean asked gently.

“Purpose,” I answered.

I sighed with satisfaction as the day wrapped up. Watching Maggie and her brother work alongside each other without clashing had felt incredible. He’d given me a look, when we packed up and I climbed into the driver’s seat of her truck. But he hadn’t objected.

“Did you get what you came for?” she asked, smiling and sinking into her seat. “You looked as busy as I was… I expect one hell of an article.”

I laughed at her tone and started the engine. “I got it all, Maggie. I’ve got a story planned that’ll put the foundation on the map. What you’re doing is incredible.”

“It almost seems too good to be true,” she said, pushing her hair back. It had come loose hours ago and flowed softly, riotously around her shoulders. I preferred it like this. “I’ve dreamed of expanding into South America, even Africa… There’s so much work just waiting to be done. I hoped… but I never really expected…”

“Are you ready to head a multi-million dollar organization?” I asked. “What I have of the Decker fortune is yours. And I’ll be at your disposal, too, you know… Every inch of me…”

She wiggled her brows at me, teasingly. “That much,” she breathed. “No fair distracting the

executive director. At least not during business hours.”

“Good thing it’s getting dark,” I replied, catching hold of her hand and drawing it to my thigh. “I have plans that include after-hours, as well.”

She laughed softly and curled against my shoulder. “Will you stay with me tonight?”

“Don’t imagine you could stop me,” I answered. “After all, I haven’t kept that promise yet.”

“And which one is that?” she teased.

“That long first night together,” I answered. “One with no risks, no storms… no fear.” I slipped my hand between her warm, soft thighs. “That perfect first time…”

I peeled her clothes off and ran a finger down to the tip of her nipple.

“I’m not a virgin anymore,” she said, almost shyly. “There can’t really be a second first time…”

“Mmmm, I know… I was there…,” I growled out softly. “But there’s so much to learn about each other… so much to explore.” I let my finger blaze a trail downwards… “There are so many firsts ahead of us, sweetheart. We’ll get to all of them… eventually… We have a whole lifetime.”

I stripped down and pulled her softness against the length of my body. I’d been sore and aching all day, but the second we touched, it had all disappeared. She was everything…

I took my time, exploring every curve, every delicate hollow. Her skin was like velvet, drawing me in, demanding my touch. “Lay back,” I ordered gently. “I need the taste of you…”

I eased her gently on the bed and turned her, so that she rested on her belly and her breasts. “Beautiful,” I whispered… “So fuckingly beautiful…”

Her delicate ankles were where I began. Mere touch would never be enough, I had to find her flesh with my lips… Those aching long legs that had looked delicious from a distance made me maddeningly hungry. She moaned my name as I tasted the length of her, coming to a stop at the round, sweet curve of her ass.

I let my hands roam up her back, curving in above her ass and widening out into the V of her shoulders. I let my fingers linger in the hollow of her spine, and then followed it back down to the cleft of her cheeks. I spread those long legs wide and dipped my face into her warm center. Reaching deep with my tongue, I swept her clit in one long, tantalizing lick…

“God… oh, God… Joe…,” she gasped out, writhing on the bed as I took my fill. Then I turned her so I could see the look in those dark, deep eyes.

“Tell me what you need, sweetheart…,” I crooned softly. “I can see it in your eyes… but I want you to tell me…”

“You,” she moaned, and she took my thick, stiff cock in her hands. “I need to suck you…”

She pushed me back, turning the tables and making my aching cock even harder. She held me by the base and I shuddered hard from the power in her hands. Then she dropped… taking my cock deep in her throat, punishing me with her tongue. I felt her squeeze the first slippery drops of fluid from me, and she responded like a wildfire. She arched and sucked, driving me almost to the edge…

“Maggie…,” I gasped, holding her back, willing her to slow herself. “Sweet, hungry girl…

You’re mouth isn’t all that needs feeding…”

I drew her up by the hips, sinking my fingers into her flesh and spreading her wide open. “Fuck me back,” I demanded.

She dropped down, straddling my shaft and swallowing it greedily. The sound she made had me close to coming… I bit into my lip as she rocked her clit against my base and churned her tight walls against my shaft. I held my breath until she was gasping and I was almost beyond control.

I leaned up, moving over her and rolling her onto her back. Her legs wrapped around my back and I dipped my face to her breasts… I moved slowly at first, working her in long, full strokes. But the ragged sound of her breathing pushed me faster… I could feel her climax building like a tidal wave and I drove her on… shifting my hips so my cock worked her inside and out. Together we climbed and together we came, giving and taking… struggling, yielding…