“I’m in love with you.”

The words lifted the thick, lush veil of my last intense climax and made me blink. I lifted my head with difficulty and stared at him, between my legs.

“I love this… too…,” I said, slowly, carefully.

He shifted his weight and rested his head against my belly. “No, sweetheart,” he said. “You heard me right the first time. I’m in love with you.”

His erection was pounding insistently against the side of my thigh. He’d taken me over the edge time after time, without any release of his own. “This is his cock talking,” something deep in my head whispered. Don’t pay attention… don’t let down your guard…

I ran my fingers through his hair, feeling the relentless need building again as he climbed my length and rested himself between my legs. His cock throbbed against my soaking clit, but he didn’t enter me. He rocked instead, sliding up and down along the outside, enjoying his power to arouse me.

“This is me talking,” he said with a wry smile, “not this…” And he thrust in deep and hard. “I’ll tell you the same an hour from now… a week from now… years from now, Angel.” He began a deep, stroking rhythm that made the whole room spin. “I’ve felt this way forever, sweetheart… since the very first time.” He hilted himself and rolled his hips between mine. “You’re the only woman for me… and I’m the only man for you…

It’s in this,” he said, burying his face in my neck, tangling his fingers in the forgotten ribbon that still bound my wrists and giving a gentle tug, “that you accept that you belong to me… with me…

That you accept that this is your nature, as well as mine… heart to heart and flesh to flesh… Every time I come inside you,” he said, speeding up his rhythm to a frantic pace… “And you belong to me a little more…”

I could feel he was hovering on the edge, and I was already halfway gone. The rushing sound in my head filled my ears and drowned his voice. I felt a rush of liquid heat inside and was lost in the wave that followed. My body clenched and squeezed, draining his essence and giving sweet release in return. He thrust until we were slick with sweat and satisfaction. He rolled us until he was resting on his back and I was straddling him, his cock still as hard as when we’d begun.

I felt lightheaded, almost outside myself. He smiled up at me, caressing my breasts tenderly. There was something… something echoing in the back of my mind… something that slipped out of reach just as the thought came closer...

“I still love you,” he said, softly.

I forgot to pick up a pregnancy test, I thought suddenly. “I love…”

He cut me off with a kiss, sitting up and wrapping his arms around me. He untied the ribbon from my wrists and used it to tie my hair into a long ponytail. “You’re not ready yet,” he said, leaning back to admire his work. His eyes were bright… knowing…

“You trust me with your body,” he said easily. “I want you to learn to trust me with your heart.

He stroked my cheek, holding my face between his hands.

“Somebody got in late last night,” Mattie said brightly, pouring me a mug of coffee. “Rexie said you two barely made it upstairs.”

I took a long, scalding swallow and smiled faintly. “Somebody needs to keep his mouth shut,” I shot back. “How did Violet do with Donna yesterday? And what did she think about our new member of the family?” Miri lifted her head and perked her ears.

“Donna said Will couldn’t have chosen better,” she answered. Violet stood up from where the puppy was chewing her toy and stood next to me. I tucked an arm around her and she didn’t pull back.

“She said the interaction is already starting to help her… That she was more cooperative during her session, more willing to try new activities. I scheduled her again for Friday…”

“I’ll take her,” I said, easing my little girl up onto my lap. She settled in comfortably, silent as always, and started to work her little fingers along the edge of the table as if there were invisible keys to play… music only she could hear…

“You’ve done so much for her, for both of us…” I broke off, feeling a wave of emotion wash over me. “I want you to take a long weekend for yourself… maybe go see that mountain of a boyfriend of yours…”

“Not my boy friend,” she snapped back, amusement shining in her eyes. “He’s my boy toy. I make the rules and he begs me to let him follow them.” For the first time in my whole life, I thought I saw a hint of blush on her cheeks. “He did mention something about a concert tonight… But it’s not my kind of thing at all…”

“Go,” I said, without hesitation. “Just go and enjoy… try following his lead, for a change,” I said, my mind wandering. “You never know what you’ll like until you give it a chance…”

She stood up, cup in hand and bumped me gently with her hip as she walked by. “Sounds like advice from someone who knows,” she said teasingly, disappearing into the hall.

“No shit…,” I whispered under my breath.

Miri and my daughter had become inseparable.

Violet was settled in at the piano, the puppy was upside down by her feet, snoring softly. One big ear was flopped over the top of Miri’s head like a bad toupee. I checked on them from around the corner. Violet was all focus, in that distant way of hers, My heart did a little roll in my chest and I went to check on the bread in the oven. The day had turned blustery and chill. There was nothing I enjoyed more than the warm, yeasty smell of homemade bread… and nothing I needed more than a quiet opportunity to try to sort through the last few weeks of my life...

“Angel?”

He knocked at the door and my heart thumped harder.

“I was going through a few of the odds and ends from yesterday…”

So was I, I thought. That you love me… that I love you, too… that it terrifies me and excites me all at once and I have no idea what to do with all that…

“I was glad to have an excuse to see you…”

And I’ve spent half the morning trying to come up with a reason, too…

“I haven’t opened the boxes for our room,” he said quietly. “I want you to do that… to show me what you chose…” He took a step closer.

What did I buy…? What am I doing…? He took a step closer and my whole body responded…

But this had your name on it.” He held out a white paper bag with A. Hollister scrawled in pencil… Perkins Pharmacy, Spring Street stamped in black ink… “I thought it might be something urgent…?”

Fuck… oh… fuck…

The pregnancy test…