“I ’m really glad we decided to do this,” I told him nervously .

“Me too! I was a little scared to approach you after everything that happened. You know your mom shouldn’t have anything to do with us .”

“Maybe it was a good thing she butted in when she did,” I told him casually. “You’re right, we do need to talk .”

The time apart had given me time to think. I cared about Earl, more than he would ever know. But I was my mother’s daughter. People would always be looking down on me. Earl deserved a woman far more worthwhile than me. I knew that the stalemate with Opal wouldn’t last forever. She would be back to cause more destruction and I didn’t want Earl to be in her path when it happened .

“Do you mind if I go first?” he asked anxiously. “I’ve been trying to find you for days .”

I smiled. Nothing he could say would change my mind. “Sure .”

He reached across the table and took my hands. The second our skin touched the slow burning ember erupted into a volcanic flame of desire. The few days apart had been rough on my body. It had grown accustomed to Earl’s skilled touch .

“I know you’ve been thinking about ‘us’ and so have I. You don’t know how proud I am that you got that job.” He started to fidget. It amazed me how a man so raw and rugged could fumble over his words. “Your desire for independence is one of the reasons I love you .”

I sucked in a sharp breath and looked at him. The room faded around us. No one else mattered in that moment. I didn’t know what to say. His words made my heart race. How could I respond to something so sudden? Was I ready to tell him I loved him too? It didn’t matter, he quickly cleared his throat and started talking again .

“This is all moving so fast, I know that. I just need you to know how I really feel. I’ve been miserable without you around .”

“I don’t understand what’s changed so much in a few days. The other night you walked away without looking back,” I reminded him softly .

“I was an idiot. I was enraged and I assumed the worst when I shouldn’t have. Is there any way you can ever forgive me for that ?”

“I don’t know,” I told him. “What happens the next time we get into a fight or argument? Are you going to flip out on me again ?”

“No,” he said adamantly. “Never again. I was so wrong to do that to you .”

I swallowed, it was so hard to keep my head from spinning. A week ago I would have swooned over the idea of him professing his feelings for me. I needed time to think about what was happening. Sure I had feelings for him, but could I really trust him? Could I ever really trust anyone? He’d packaged me together with my gold digging mother so easily .

“I know that I messed up,” he said as he took my hand. “All I’m asking for is the chance to make things right. Can you give me that? Let’s start things over fresh from the beginning .”

I looked at him, my stomach doing a little somersault. “A fresh start ?”

Earl nodded. “That’s all I’m asking for .”

“God knows I’ve needed a few of those in my life .”

“Does that mean you’ll give me another chance?” His eye lit up .

I couldn’t stop myself from laughing at the expression of pure joy on his face. If I was unsure about being with him before now it was gone. He cared about me and my feelings for him couldn’t stay hidden much longer .

“I can’t believe this is really happening!” he exclaimed .

I giggled like a young girl just as the waiter brought out our food. My appetite was gone. I looked at Earl and knew that he was thinking the same thing that I was. The dinners could wait just like everything else. I only wanted one thing in my mouth and I wasn’t going to get it sitting in a room full of people. I raised my eyebrows a couple times and jerked my head toward the door. In a flash he was pulling out his wallet and leaving money on the table before grabbing my hand and tugging me out the door .

We laughed together as we climbed into the back of his waiting car. It was like the first night we were together all over again. His hands moved all over my body in a fevered rush. I didn’t stop him, I was doing the same thing as our lips crushed together. My tongue darted into his mouth as he groaned and pulled me onto his lap. I didn’t care about the skirt as the thin material split up the sides .

His hands ran up my legs, digging into the tights and ripping them into shreds as I jerked apart his shirt. We weren’t going to make it all the way back to his apartment or mine. I ran my hands down his chest and hooked my finger through his belt as I pulled it open. I could feel the heat radiating from his hard cock through his jeans. With one hand I rubbed his cock through the material as I unbuttoned his pants with the other. All I could think about was feeling his cock buried to the hilt inside of me .

“I want you,” he groaned .

I couldn’t speak as I bit down on his neck. His hands found my nipples through my shirt and he pinched them ferociously. I squealed and bounced up and down on his lap. He ripped through the last of the fabric. Finally, his lips found their mark as he clamped down on one of my engorged nipples. I quivered in his hands as his fingers found their mark and plunged into my dripping body. My entire body vibrated with pure pleasure as he moved back and forth inside of me .

The need to feel him inside of me intensified with each passing second. Jerking down his pants, I fell away from his skilled fingers and down onto my knees. In a matter of seconds I had my lips wrapped around his throbbing cock. It wasn’t enough though, it would never be enough until he was buried deep inside of me. I scrambled back up to his lap, his eyes locking onto mine. I saw the same need for pure, unbridled passion in his eyes. He grabbed my arms and pulled me back onto his lap. I rose up on my knees, my waiting slit just inches from his cock .

“Do you have any idea how much I’ve missed you?” he growled as he playfully bit my nipples .

He had my hands extended above my head, pressed against the roof of the car. I shuddered at how helpless I was, it aroused me even more. I bit my lip and looked down at him, his lips parting once more over my reddened nipple. Wiggling my body, I slipped down until the head of his cock was pressing to enter my body .

“Please, I need it,” I begged him breathlessly .

He chucked, “How bad do you need it ?”

Before I could answer, he thrust his hips upwards quickly. His cock jabbed into my slick body and I gasped. Instantly my clit started to thrum with joy as I shuddered and fought to escape the sweet torture. He didn’t move away, leaving his cock buried several inches inside of me. I wanted to bounce on him, feel him moving inside of me, but this sweet torture would never end. Even as I tried to beg him for more he slowly slipped out of me. The second he was gone, I longed for the torture once again .

“Please,” I begged him .

“How can I say ‘no’ to that?” he asked .

Earl let go of my hands and I slipped down onto his thrusting cock. I screamed out his name as the waves of passion encompassed me. My fingers tangled through his hair, tugging and pulling as I slipped back and forth on his throbbing member. The pace started to speed up, his large hands crushing my exposed body to his chest. The sweat of our bodies mingling together as the air around us grew stale. He moaned out my name softly against my flesh. I curled my legs around his waist, allowing him to lift me up with his massive thighs before bouncing back down onto his lap .

Earl’s hand moved further down my back into the crease of my buttocks. His finger pressed against my button and I wiggled uncontrollably. He knew the little wild things that drove me absolutely insane. I pulled harder on his hair, arching my back as my body clenched down on his rod. The tightening of my body made him suck in a sharp breath, his thrusts coming faster as I struggled to keep the orgasm at bay. I wanted it to last forever. The pure euphoria that I felt with him was like a drug and I was happy to die an addict .

The vibration in my body built until it was a humming of pure pleasure. Every thrust brought me to a new height. I pulled him tight against me as his shaft pounded my tightening core until finally, his seed spilled into my waiting body. At the same time my entire body seemed to explode and shatter into millions of atoms made from ecstasy. The moment was blinding .

In the heat of the moment I cried out his name and admitted to what I knew all along. “I love you, Earl .”

* * *

“G ood morning,” he whispered to me .

The light was stabbing at my eyes, but I didn’t care. Waking up next to him felt like a wonderful dream I never wanted to leave. I could smell the hot coffee sitting on the night stand. The silk sheets wrapped around my naked body as I moved. I was sore, but left in a blissful state of happiness. Stretching out I smiled up at him .

“Good morning to you,” I replied. “I guess we got a little carried away last night, didn’t we? Where did we end up ?”

“My father has a little house in the area, it’s got a garage and I knew no one was using it .”

“Ah, I was wondering where the garage came in at,” I told him .

The night before was full of dark hallways and new turns. One thing I did remember was how I felt about him. That much was still the same .

“About last night,” I said carefully .

His face fell. “Oh .”

“I just wanted you to know that I meant everything I said,” I blurted out .

Instantly his eyes lit up again. “Really ?”

I nodded. “Absolutely. I love you, Earl. You make me so happy, I was a fool to think that I could find any happiness without you in my life .”

“I love you too, Tabitha,” he said .

His lips covered mine in another steamy moment. Right away my body reacted. I was ready for him. With a laugh, I broke away from him and took a deep breath .

“We have the rest of our lives to kiss, but that coffee is going to get cold .”

“I don’t care,” he said in a husky voice. “I will make more. The only thing I want right now is you. I have an entire lifetime without you to make up for. The coffee can wait, this can’t .”

His passion lit the fire inside of me. “Well, when you put it like that .”

He growled and pounced on me like a playful animal. With a shriek of delight, I dove under the covers and forgot all about the coffee .