“Carlos took me to his place last night,” I said to Nat over the phone. “And we slept together.”

She shrieked. “Yes! Attagirl!” I was pretty sure she was jumping in place with excitement. “So? What was it like? Good? Bad? Slow? Fast?”

I chuckled, shaking my head. Whenever she was exhilarated, she fired off too many questions at once, acting like a kid about to get some candy.

“Amazing.”

She snorted. “That’s not a good enough description. I want details. Details, girl. You can’t just drop a bomb on me like that and act so cool about it.”

“Well, let’s start by saying that he’s a very passionate and experienced lover.”

“Define that.”

I bit on my lip. “I came a few times.”

She gasped. “I envy you. I totally envy you. Is he, ahem, well-equipped?”

Count on Nat to ask about the size. “He’s been blessed in that department.”

“Mmm. You’re so lucky. A hot dancer with a nice package. So, so lucky. What else?”

“You’re acting like a detective, you know that? He likes passionate sex, but even when he goes slow, it feels too good.” We had the same rhythm in dancing, and we took that into the bedroom, so it was no wonder that it felt so right.

“Oh, so you did it a few times?”

I felt tingling between my legs when I thought about the time in his shower and the last time, which was in his bed before we fell asleep in each other’s arms. I never felt safer than in those moments, but it would be a lie if I said that it didn’t scare me.

I was scared, a part of me expecting him to turn into Glen any moment, which wasn’t fair toward Carlos, but I couldn’t help it. I had a wonderful time with him last night, but one great night wasn’t an indicator of a long and stable relationship, or so that voice of doubt told me.

After all, he danced with a lot of beautiful girls, and yes, he’d said this was the first time for him to be attracted to one of his students, but could I really believe him? For all I knew, he could be saying that only to get into my pants.

“Linnie? Are you there?”

I flinched, remembering that Nat was still waiting for my answer. “Um, what was your question again?”

She sighed. “You seem distracted. What’s going on?”

I looked at my red nails, my mood going down just from thinking about Glen.

Carlos helped me forget about him for at least one night, but everything came back to me, and I was faced with a fact that I had to be cautious of Glen. What if he came to my apartment again?

“Glen came to my place two days ago.”

“Shit. He did?” she asked in a rising tone of voice.

“Yes.” I closed my eyes, my hands going cold as those terrible moments unfolded in my mind. My heart picked up its pace, and I could feel everything as if it was happening again. The fear. The loneliness. The disgust.

“He was drunk, and he barged into my place before I could even close the door on him. It was scary.”

“Geez. What happened? Did he do something to you?”

I took a deep breath. “Actually, yes. He assaulted me.”

“What?”

“He pinned me against the wall and kissed my neck, and I couldn’t do anything to get him off me. He was mad about Carlos, who drove me home, because apparently, Glen was there and he saw us together. He made a big deal out of it and claimed I was his.” I shuddered and pinched the bridge of my nose. “I thought he was going to rape me. It was horrible.”

“Motherfucker.” She let out a string of curses, each more derogative than the previous one. “Did he… Oh shit. Please don’t tell me he—”

“No, he didn’t manage to do anything else because I kneed his groin and managed to get away from him.”

“Oh, thank goodness.”

“I called the police and went out to wait for them, but by the time they arrived, he was gone.”

She exhaled loudly. “That’s not normal. He’s not normal.”

“Tell me about it. You should’ve seen him. It was downright scary.”

“How could you endure that man for so long?”

“He wasn’t like that before, Nat. He changed, just as he claims, but he changed to worse. Now, he’s this deranged, drunk man who won’t take no for an answer. Frankly, I’m scared.”

“You should get a restraining order against him.”

“You think?”

“Definitely. If he’s capable of forcing himself on you and refusing to accept the breakup, your best bet is that restraining order. How can you be sure that he won’t try something like this again? Or worse? You shouldn’t take any risks.”

“I know. I don’t want to have to live in fear.”

“How are you now? Do you want me to come to your place?”

“Thanks, but I’m fine. Besides, I’m seeing Carlos tonight, so…”

“Good. That’s good. Stick to Carlos because he’ll be able to protect you from that motherfucker if he does something like that again.”

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to get Carlos into this mess. I wasn’t sure about many things when it came to him, and opening up to him felt like putting my heart out there for him to stomp on it if he wanted.

But one thing was certain. I couldn’t resist him.

I went to his studio earlier as we had agreed, the chain of my need pulling me closer to him against all my insecurities. I got dressed up, let my hair down, and applied only a bit of makeup.

He was alone in the semi-dark studio, and as soon as I passed through the door, he locked it, pulled me into his embrace, and kissed my lips passionately. It was so easy for him to make me pliable and hungry for more, and I found myself gripping his shoulders and grinding against him.

“I missed you.”

I smiled. “I missed you too.”

“I had a few meetings with some investors today, but I couldn’t focus since I kept thinking about you. Last night was amazing.”

He pushed me against the wall and ran his hands up my waist, his lips hard on mine. He fondled my breasts over my dress and pressed his hard cock against my mound. I moaned with pleasure.

“You’re so beautiful.” His eyes traced the lines of my face with plain adoration.

“Just like you.”

He was dressed in black jeans and a black t-shirt that revealed his sexy definition. His hair was slicked back today, and I wanted to run my fingers through his silky strands and mess it all up. I did just that, right when his lips found mine again, and all I could think about was the feel of him against me.

He took me by my hand and pulled me to the mirrors. “What are you doing?”

He smirked at me. “I want you to see the beauty I’m seeing.”

He made me face the mirrors and stopped behind me. Our gazes locked in the mirror, and my pulse quickened. His fingers traced my arm, his other hand positioned low on my belly.

He intertwined his hand with mine and started swaying, his body guiding mine. We moved to the rhythm of the music in our heads, our eyes never leaving each other in the mirror, and I felt drunk on him. Every moment with him was magical and filled with a passion I never knew before.

I leaned my head against his shoulder and closed my eyes, a faint smile decorating my face. No one had ever treated me like Carlos, and I was starting to feel like I was in some kind of fairytale. Everything about him and us felt special.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked me.

“How good I feel next to you. You’re making me forget about everything, so I can only feel. The time with you feels special.” I opened my eyes, blushing. “Sorry. That might have sounded corny.”

“Not at all. You described exactly how I feel whenever I’m with you. Only with you, Lindsey.” He moved my hair to the side and leaned in to kiss my neck. I moaned, goosebumps breaking out on my skin.

He knew exactly how to kiss me, finding all my sensitive spots, and I quickly turned into a hot, wet mess. His cock twitched against my bottom, showing me how much I affected him.

“I want to see all of you.”

He helped me get out of my dress, leaving me only in my underwear and high heels. His gaze went over every inch of me in the mirror, the lust and approval on his face giving me a sense of control and power. He made me feel beautiful. With him, I was the most beautiful girl in the world.

I wound my arms around his neck, which sent my breasts in my push-up bra higher, and he growled when he noticed it.

“You look very good in that bra, but I think I prefer how your breasts look without it.” He unclasped my bra and threw it aside. “Because you have such sexy, perky breasts.” He palmed my boobs that were big enough to fill his hands and even more. “So firm. So nicely rounded.”

He pinched my nipples, which were already two hard buds, rising into his touch. “And these nipples. Mmm.” He pushed his cock against my butt, moaning at the contact.

“Touch me, Carlos. Please, touch my pussy.”

“Si, mi amor.”

Watching me in the mirror, he pushed my undies down and covered my mound. I thrust my hips forward and tightened my arms around his neck, growing more impatient.

With a smirk, he pushed two fingers inside of me, bending them at my G-spot, and I moaned when pleasure hit me like a bolt of electricity.

“Carlos… Yes…”

My juices flowed out of me and down my thighs, the pulsing in my core becoming stronger. He fingered me fast, watching my reaction intently, and all my rational thoughts floated away… It was all about pleasure and this heat in me that was going to explode at any moment.

It didn’t take me long. He pulled his fingers out and brought them to my clitoris. Two seconds later, ecstasy poured all over me, and I cried out his name, clinging to him like he was my only anchor.

“Carlos!” He held me as my body convulsed, the intensity of my release affecting all of me.

“You’re perfect.”

He spun me around and picked me up before he took me to the wall across from the mirrors. He unzipped his jeans with one hand and released his erection. I felt the need for him deep in me. I needed him to own me.

“I want you so much,” I told him.

“You got me, baby. You got all of me.” His lips latching onto mine, he guided his cock to my entrance and plunged inside.

“Mhm!” I moaned into his mouth.

His thick cock stretched me widely, ripping through my folds with an urgency that stole my breath away. I watched him bang me against the wall in the mirror, his gorgeously-shaped ass fully visible, and I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. My own face was unrecognizable to me, twisted in desire and pleasure, showing an unrestrained side of myself that had lay dormant for so long.

His thrusts got faster and harder, and I lost control, squeezing his waist with my thighs. I came once more, gripping his shoulder under the intensity of my orgasm.

“Dios mio. You’re so good, mi amor. So good. I can’t hold off my orgasm much longer.”

“Then don’t hold it off. Come in me.”

“Lindsey.” He said my name like it was something sacred, something cherished, his eyes two dark abysses of lust. He buried himself deep, so deep into me and groaned, the first spurt of sperm coating my insides.

Our lips smashed against each other with his tongue sliding over mine, and never had I felt more bliss than now. He filled another piece of my heart, and for the first time, I didn’t want to stop it. For the first time, I wasn’t afraid of falling in love.