After making it through the thirty-day no-sex test, Jess had the courage of a Marine that had just completed basic training. She didn’t realize that I’d been somewhat reserved since the day she met me, but she was about to find out.

I doubted I’d ever admit it, but I was in love with Jess long before we met the second time. I was simply too afraid to admit it. I now felt like we’d been in a relationship for years. A relationship without sex.

I turned to face her as she made her way across the living room floor. “I told you that you made a deal with the devil. Now you’re going to find out what I meant.”

As she walked toward my bedroom, she raised her hand in the air and waved it from side-to-side. “Blah, blah, blah.”

“When do you have to be to work?” I asked.

She stopped at the foot of my bed and kicked off her flip-flops. “I took the day off.”

She dropped her purse on the floor and took off the loose-fitting jacket she wore. Beneath it, she was wearing a wife beater and no bra. Before I made it to the bedroom door, her sweat pants were on the floor at her feet.

Now standing in her panties and a sheer ribbed tank top, she slid a hair tie from her wrist and pulled her golden locks into a ponytail.

“Good thing,” I said. “Because when I’m done with you, you’re going to need to get one of the fellas in maintenance to wheel you out of here in a wheel barrow.”

She faced me. “What does that mean?”

“You won’t walk out,” I said.

She rolled her eyes. “Promises, promises.”

I stepped into the bedroom. “Can you count?”

“Uhhm. Yeah. I might be blond, but I’m not dumb.”

“Up until today, how many orgasms have you had during the course of sex?”

She scrunched her nose. “From the first time I had sex until the last time? All of them bundled up?”

“No, dork. In one sexual session. How many?”

Her gaze dropped to the bed. After a moment, she looked at me. “I dunno. Maybe like one and a half. One good one and then one of those stupid little things that make you kind of shudder.”

I chuckled. “One and a possible, huh?”

She seemed confused. “Yeah. I’d say so. Why?”

“Well, little miss smart ass. Today, you’re going to count ‘em. Every damned one of ‘em. That’s your assignment.”

“Shouldn’t be tough,” she said, wagging the fingers of her right hand in the air. “I’ve got five fingers right here.”

I pulled off my shirt and tossed it at the foot of the bed. “You’ll need your toes for this little adventure.”

She shot me a look. “Whatever.”

“You ready to start this little adventure?” I asked.

“There’s one thing. My Mirena got messed up and I got an infection. They had to remove it.”

I had no idea what she was talking about. The look on my face must have warned her. She continued without me asking for further explanation.

“It’s an IUD.”

My stare of confusion continued.

“Birth control,” she said. “I’m not on birth control. We’ll need to use a condom.”

“I don’t even know how to operate one of those things. Condoms are for guys who fuck prostitutes. If I’m having sex with you, it means I’m committing to have children with you. That’s how it works. It’s all by God’s design.”

She looked at me as if I were insane. “You want children? You’ve already got three. I’ve got two.”

“I’m committed to you, and to this relationship. I told you once, in my mind, we’re married. So, yes. I’m ready to have children with you.”

She slumped her shoulders in defeat. “Okay.”

I changed my tone of voice to what my mother called my voice of authority, and what my children called my mean voice. “With each orgasm you have, you’ll shout out the number. Understand?”

She simply stared back at me with wide eyes.

“Do. You. Understand?” I said, barking out each word as if it were a command.

“Yes,” she responded. “Yes, Sir.”

“If you do not, I will slap my right hand across your ass to remind you.”

She swallowed hard. “Okay.”

I pulled off my sweats, tossed them aside, and reached for her ponytail. With her hair gripped firmly in my hand, I pressed my mouth hard against hers and kissed her like it would be our last. Her knees went weak during the kiss, and when they did, I bent her over the bed.

I didn’t need to go thirty days without sex to know I wanted to spend my life with Jess. I’d done the exercise for her. I felt I’d loved Jess for quite some time, but simply wasn’t willing to admit it. The instant I penetrated her, I was certain I loved her.

What we shared during that instant was unlike anything I’d ever experienced. My heart swelled with emotion. Dumbfounded by the feelings that rushed through me, I paused. I was right where I needed to spend the rest of my life, that much I was sure of.

After clearing my head of thoughts of my love for her, I forced myself to come to the realization that the day’s sexual adventure was going to be about her, and not me.

So, using her own words, I began to give it to her like a boss.

Thirty seconds later, she shouted.

“One!”

I continued at the same pace. It wasn’t slow and steady, nor was it rough. It was a predictable rhythm that allowed her to anticipate my strokes, yet firm enough that she was well aware of who was in charge of the situation.

To help her along, I pressed my hips firmly against her ass cheeks, turned her head to the side, and kissed her deeply. Halfway through that passionate kiss, she bellowed out the number two into my open mouth.

I picked her up and laid her onto the bed. “Open the blinds and look down at the parking lot,” I said. “Tell me if you see any cops on horses.”

She was struggling to catch her breath. “Cops on horses?”

“Cops on fucking horses, Jess. You know what a cop is, right?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“And, a horse?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Look for em. Let me know if you see any.”

She opened the blinds and peered out into the street. I climbed onto the bed, gripped her waist in my hands, and guided myself into her. Upon penetrating her fully, the breath shot from her lungs.

“Do not turn around,” I said in a demanding tone.

I knew Jess well enough to know simply gazing through the glass and into the morning traffic while we had sex would be enough to drive her sexual senses wild. From the passerby’s vantage point, they could see nothing.

Jess, on the other hand, could see everything. And, all the while, she’d wonder who was watching.

While she looked for something that didn’t exist, I pounded myself into her with great passion.

“Three!” she howled.

Five minutes later, she shouted again. “Four!”

I continued until she got to number six. When she did, forty minutes had passed since we started. Taking her shaking legs into consideration, I rolled her onto her back and gave her a short rest.

Once again struggling to catch her breath, she looked at me with wide eyes. Her face was covered with concern.

“You’re…not even…breathing hard,” she panted.

I gestured toward the exercise equipment in the corner of my bedroom. “I spend plenty of time in that corner making sure I’m in good shape.”

At the time, I weighed one hundred and eighty-eight pounds and had six percent bodyfat. I was the epitome of good health. Additionally, my will was so strong that I could have sex for as long as I wanted without reaching climax. It wasn’t always fun to go forever without a release, but if need be, I certainly could.

On that day, I had a point to prove, and I intended to do just that.

I swept my hand over her cheek and kissed her lightly. “Are you okay?”

She nodded. “I’m okay.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m good,” she said. “That was crazy. I’ve never had four orgasms in one day, let alone at once. That was insane.”

I let out a laugh. “We’re far from done.”

Her eyes shot wide. “Huh?”

I pushed her left leg to the side and nestled my hips between her thighs. “Ankles to your ears, my dear.”

In a matter of seconds, she barked out numbers five, six and seven. After changing positions, she coughed out eight and nine.

Number nine, for whatever reason, drained her level of energy to nothing. While she stared blankly at the ceiling, I walked to the kitchen, got a yogurt, and a bottle of water.

“Eat this, and drink this,” I said.

She exhaled heavily. “My leg’s got a huge cramp in it. That was insane,” she said. “It sucked the energy right out of me. Like, drained me.”

“The protein and calcium will make you feel better,” I said. “The little bit of carbs it has will give you enough energy to continue.”

She swallowed the spoonful of the coconut yogurt and then looked at me with eyes that were filled with fear. “Continue? I need a nap. Aren’t we done?”

I laughed a sinister laugh. “Not even close.”

She glared at me. “Really?”

“Your little mouth got you into trouble, Kelli,” I said.

“Oh Lord,” she said.

I nodded. “Oh Lord is right.”

At one o’clock that afternoon, she shouted out seventeen! When she did, there was no doubt in my mind that I’d proved my point, and that she’d had enough.

As we laid side-by-side in the bed, her muscles quivered. “Don’t touch me. Don’t even talk to me,” she said. “Just be quiet and let me enjoy this.”

“Catch your breath,” I said. “Then we’ll go take a shower.”

“Shhh. Don’t talk.”

We laid silently at each other’s sides for some time with her simply staring up at the ceiling. Eventually, she tilted her head to the side. “I really need to pee,” she said. “But I’m sure I won’t be able to walk over there.”

“I’ll carry you.”

She shifted her eyes to the ceiling. “You’re insane.”

“I warned you,” I said.

“When?”

“I said you made a deal with the devil.”

“I thought you were joking,” she said.

“I don’t joke.”

“Ever?”

“Rarely,” I responded.

She looked at me out of the sides of her eyes. “I’ll remember that.”

“After that shower, we’ll get started again,” I said.

She gave me a bug-eyed look.

I kissed her and then smiled. “That, my dear, was a joke.”